Naruto 1. Welcome Back

**Warning: Rated 'M' for a reason.**

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**They Never Knew**

By: Helennnn

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**Chapter 1 – Welcome Back**

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Mebuki asked her daughter for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Are you?"

Kazashi paused briefly mid–bite, eyeing his wife and daughter carefully before continuing eating. What he didn't know was that Sakura was aware of his quick dismissal and she couldn't stop herself from gritting her teeth.

Mebuki sighed as she stood up and after reminding her daughter to eat her breakfast for the third time, she poured Kazashi more coffee and placed her own empty dishes into the sink. Then, she closed her eyes and sighed, bracing herself against the counter. "All I'm saying is that it's okay if you want to back out. There is no harm in staying at home for another couple of days."

"I'm sick of staying here!" Sakura snapped, making her mother flinch. Seeing this, she softened her tone and also sighed. "Mom, I miss my friends. I hate being stuck in the house all day because you don't want anybody to see me."

The older woman grimaced before turning and facing her small family. It was a family she had worked so hard for, a family she had always dreamed about having as a child. She had a husband who loved her and a daughter who looked up to her and adored her. Well, eight months ago she did. Of course Mebuki knew that they still loved her, but lately, they had all been drifting further and further apart.

"Sakura," Kazashi grumbled, placing his knife and fork down on his plate and standing up, "do not speak to your mother in such a way. She is only doing what she thinks is best for you."

Sakura looked unconvinced as she raised a delicate pink eyebrow at her father, "By hiding me away for all these months? Please tell me how that can be the best for me."

"I wasn't–" Mebuki stopped herself mid–sentence and took a deep breath. "Please, reconsider your choice, Sakura. This is a big leap and I'm not sure you're ready for this."

"Tsunade–sama thinks I'm ready." Sakura snapped as she pushed away her food and stood up. "In fact, she says that I've been ready for two whole months now, but you didn't want me to leave. Why are you trying to hide me? Are you ashamed of me?"

Mebuki sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You know that I'm not ashamed of you Sakura. It's just with the business being where it is right now, I want to keep you as close to me as possible. It only takes one phone call, you know that."

The pink haired girl averted her eyes as she chewed on her glossy bottom lip. Indeed she did know that, all too well, in fact. Sakura took a deep breath and pushed away the negative thoughts, clearing her mind completely as she sat back down in her seat. "Don't worry about me, mom. The teachers know everything so if anything happens – not that anything is going to happen – they'll be there."

"Maybe you should listen to her, Mebuki." Kazashi told his wife as he fixed his tie and pushed his chair under the table. "Who knows? Maybe going back to school will be good for her. If she wasn't ready, Tsunade would not have told you that she is."

Moving forward and picking up his empty plate, Mebuki frowned. To Sakura, the frown told her that she was thinking about it, but was still closer to her own decision rather than Sakura's, whilst to Kazashi, the frown told him that he had won their little discussion. Sighing with relief, he pulled on his jacket and kissed his wife on the cheek.

"I'll be working late again tonight." He informed his family. Turning to Sakura, he gave her a smile, "Good luck today, kid. I know you'll do fine." Then, he turned to his wife again. "Mebuki, you must give our daughter more credit than that. No matter what happens, she will always be our kicker."

Kicker – that was what her parents referred to her as. It was mostly because of how much pain she had put Mebuki through during her pregnancy and labour, but it was also because Sakura had a damn good kick and could do some serious damage. Not only that, but no matter what the obstacle, Sakura was always able to overcome it. When she had broken her writing hand, she had taught herself how to write with her other and now, she had neat writing with whatever hand she wrote with. During her first year of high school, a certain girl hadn't liked how close Sakura was with a guy she liked and tried to beat her up after cutting most of her hair off. Well, that was until Sakura went all out on her and then the girl didn't bother her again. Her hair had looked awful and to make matters worse, it had to have another two or three inches taken off so it would be even, but Sakura had managed to work the just below the jaw hair–do.

"Sakura," Her mother repeated herself for the third time. "If you're going to school, you need to keep focused!"

Sakura gave Mebuki an apologetic smile. "Sorry, mom, I was just thinking. What were you saying? Wait," Sakura looked around the kitchen and frowned, "where's dad?"

Mebuki rolled her eyes, but smiled at her daughter. "Your father left five minutes ago! He kissed you goodbye, but you were spaced out. And I was saying," Mebuki sighed and pushed aside her feeling of unease, "that perhaps you should go to school today. You're right. If Tsunade says you're ready and you feel ready, then I'm going to support you in your decision."

"Thank you, mom," Sakura smiled more genuinely.

"However," Her mother raised two fingers to her daughter, "I will only allow you to go to school on two conditions." When Sakura raised an eyebrow, silently telling her mother to go on, she did so. "First condition, I want you to take your phone. If there's an emergency or you don't think you can handle it, I want you to ring either me or Tsunade–sama, do you understand? I'll keep my phone with me all day and Tsunade–sama has told you many times before that she will always answer her phone." Then, Mebuki sighed. "Second condition, just… be safe, okay? I want to drive you to and from school – and this is not up for discussion. Am I understood?"

She thought about it for a couple of moments. In some ways, her mother's conditions seemed innocent and simple enough, but in others, Sakura couldn't help but think that perhaps her mother didn't trust her. No, Sakura knew she had violated whatever trust Mebuki had with her all those months ago and it made her chest give an uncomfortable squeeze. Instead of showing her sadness though, Sakura smiled brightly, "Deal."

"Okay," Mebuki said softly. "Now hurry up and finish your breakfast and then you can get changed."

Sakura's smile died a little. "It's okay, I'm not hung–"

"Eat, Sakura." Her mother demanded before looking at Sakura out of the corner of her eye. "I will inform the school that you will be returning today and by the time I get back, I want that plate empty. And when I say empty, I do not mean into the trash."

Sighing, Sakura leaned back in her chair and pushed her food around her plate, "Fine."

An hour later, Sakura was dressed in her school uniform: a navy blue, checked, pleated skirt, a plain long–sleeved white blouse that was tucked in and a plain navy tie that matched the skirt. She had made quite a few adjustments to her uniform. For starters, like most girls, Sakura had taken her skirt up a few inches so that it was just long enough to keep her covered. The two top buttons on her shirt were undone, just like they had been since her very first year in school and her tie was loose, but not loose enough that it looked ridiculous. Also, she wore white over–the–knee socks and a pair of plain black flats.

Her mother, as well as many other mothers of girls' in the school, had tried hard to get them to change the uniforms. One mother even went as far as to say the uniforms were ghastly whilst another called them unflattering. However, with a few tweaks here and there, Sakura had made her uniform look kind of hot.

Picking up her black leather backpack, Sakura placed her phone, a couple of pens, house keys and purse in the bag before grabbing a jacket. It was supposedly warm out, but it was just in case.

"Sakura," Mebuki called from downstairs, "are you ready yet? You're going to be late!"

Sakura sighed. It was almost like old times. "I'm coming!"

"Well hurry up! I still need to speak with your headmaster and fill out a couple of forms. The rest of the school returned last week, so we need to get your timetable too."

The teenager rolled her eyes as she gave her appearance a once over. She wouldn't admit it to her mother, but Sakura actually felt quite nervous. It had been so long since she last spoke to any of her friends – and they hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms.

Her pink hair was parted down the centre, falling around her shoulders and down her back in soft, loose curls whilst also framing her face. Sakura had spent quite a while trying to get her appearance just right. After all, it had been over eight months since she had last been seen – she had to make sure she looked good! Her stunningly green eyes were framed by long, thick black eyelashes and her upper eye lids each had a thin strip of eyeliner which flicked out on the end slightly. Also, she was wearing foundation and barely tinted lip gloss.

"Sakura!"

She growled in annoyance, "I said I'm coming!"

With that said Sakura took a deep breath and left her room to go and meet her mother in the car.

The entire car ride, Sakura's stomach was doing flips and at one point, Sakura had almost asked Mebuki to pull over.

Second thoughts flooded her mind as her school finally came into view. What if this was a mistake? What if she wasn't ready and was pushing herself too hard, too soon? After everything that had happened, would her friends even want her to come back? Did they even consider her as a friend anymore? Sakura bit down on her lower lip as her mother parked the car and pulled her keys out of the ignition. Then, the older woman pulled out a pair of sunglasses from the glove compartment and put them on.

Just as she reached for the handle, Mebuki seemed to sense Sakura's hesitance and smiled softly at her daughter. Placing a hand on her leg, Mebuki spoke. "Don't be so worried, Sakura. I'm sure your friends have all missed you a lot."

"But not one of them came to the house." Sakura whispered. "They didn't come to check up on me, or ring me."

"It's okay." She spoke gently, giving Sakura's leg a soft squeeze. "You have both mine and Tsunade–sama's numbers saved, so if there are any problems at all, ring one of us."

Sakura nodded, looking back out the window as people started to enter the school. Most of them looked happy, like they hadn't a care in the world. How many of those smiles weren't real and only there to please others? How many of those people smiled and laughed like nothing mattered, just like she had done? It was a pretty scary thought.

Shaking the negative thoughts from her head, Sakura took a deep breath before nodding to her mother. She was ready. It was now or never.

The teenaged girl forced her legs to stop shaking as she climbed out of the car before she slipped her bag over her shoulders and folded her jacket over one of her arms. Then, with the confidence only Haruno Sakura could show, she strutted into the building with her mother right behind her.

There were many shocked whispers following her as she walked through the hallways. On her way, Sakura saw many of her old friends, who looked just as surprised to see her as the rest of the school. However, Sakura acknowledged no one and kept herself focused on getting to the headmaster's office. With her eyes glued onto the receptionist's glass doors and her back straight, Sakura walked with her hips dipping in an almost enticing manner.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw her childhood best friend, Ino, watching her with wide eyes. Whilst they had been best friends, they had also been rivals and had competed against each other in everything. So as Sakura walked the hallways of school in a superior manner, like she hadn't a care in the world, Ino's blood started to boil – and it was obvious to everyone that the blonde wasn't too thrilled to see Haruno Sakura back in school after being away for so long.

Mebuki walked silently behind Sakura, her heels clicking against the floor as she watched her daughter through her sunglasses proudly. Even though it had been a long time since Sakura had been around so many people, she was handling the situation well and with the grace only a Haruno could manage.

As the two Haruno women finally reached the receptionist's office, Mebuki removed her sunglasses as Sakura opened the door, smiling at her mother as she allowed the older woman in first. Then, with one last glance down the hallway, Sakura's smile slipped away before she followed her and closed the door.

Whilst they walked over to the receptionist desk, Sakura could still feel everyone's stares burning into her head and back. However, she kept her back to them as her mother smiled politely at the woman at the front desk, who looked at Sakura in shock before nodding and quickly getting to work. As she pressed a button on her phone, telling the headmaster about their arrival, Sakura kept fighting back the urge to turn around.

Almost immediately, they were allowed to enter the office and Sakura was so grateful that she all but skipped to the door. When they entered and Mebuki shut the door behind them, Sakura was surprised to see that it was not only was her headmaster present, but another male who didn't seem that much older than twenty five was present too.

His hair was a strange silvery–grey colour, but it didn't look like it had turned that colour due to old age. It looked completely natural, although his eyebrows were a much darker colour. His eyes were dark and drooped slightly at the ends, but they crinkled as he gave her an unseen smile. Right through his left eye was a long scar and the bottom half of his face was covered by a mask.

"Haruno–san, Sakura, I would like you to meet Hatake Kakashi." The headmaster said as he straightened up.

Sakura tore her eyes away from Kakashi and over to her headmaster, only for them to widen a fraction. When had the man gotten so old? The last time she saw him was… when? Sakura had no idea. In fact, she couldn't even remember speaking to him before she left. Rubbing the back of her neck almost nervously, Sakura stepped forward until she was stood beside her mother, who was smiling at the headmaster.

"Good morning, Sarutobi–sama." Mebuki smiled. "And, please, call me Mebuki." Then, the woman turned and gave Kakashi a small smile. "Hello, Kakashi–san, thank you for meeting with us."

"Mother," Sakura said quietly, looking away from the two men and over to her mother. The scene that was playing out gave her a horrible feeling of déjà vu. "What's going on?"

Realising what she was probably feeling, Mebuki gave her daughter a reassuring smile. "It is okay, Sakura. This is just about what is going to be happening whilst you're back – nothing at all for you to feel anxious about."

Sarutobi Hiruzen also gave Sakura a reassuring smile. "It's good to have you back, Sakura."

"Thank you," Sakura mumbled, still looking at the three warily.

Gesturing towards the chairs in front of them, Hiruzen said, "Please, take a seat."

Mebuki smiled gratefully as she sat down whilst Sakura simply sat. Kakashi had remained standing, choosing to lean against the wall instead of sitting down. The pink haired girl was highly aware of the fact that he was watching her closely. Most likely watching her reactions carefully, Sakura thought, but it still made her uneasy. Her parents had been doing that a lot lately and with good reason too, since her reactions and moods were highly unpredictable.

"Sakura," Hiruzen said, gaining the girl's attention immediately, "during the first couple of months of your return, Kakashi will be by your side. Until you feel ready, he will stay with you."

She wanted to protest, to say that she didn't need anyone to stay with her, but Sakura knew that it would be a losing argument. So, she decided to simply nod and agree. "Is that during lessons too or just lunch and other breaks that I may have?"

"Just lunch and other breaks," He told her, "unless you want him to stay with you in lessons?"

Sakura shook her head. "I'm sure I can manage."

"Sakura," Mebuki chided her quietly, "do not speak to your headmaster in such a way – you're lucky you're being allowed back into this school at all!"

"It is fine, Mebuki–san." Hiruzen chuckled, quite amused by Sakura's attitude. "Kakashi will also be here for you in case of emergency or you feel as though you need someone to talk to."

"I already have one of those–" Sakura started to say with a bored and annoyed tone but was interrupted.

"Sakura," Mebuki hissed in warning before looking back at Hiruzen. "Sarutobi–sama, if anything happens, even if it is the smallest of things, I would be grateful if you could contact me immediately. It was only decided this morning to allow Sakura to return and I have to admit that I am still not entirely comfortable with the idea."

Kakashi chose this time to push away from the wall and step forward. "I can assure you that Sakura will be fine, Mebuki–san."

Mebuki folded one leg over the other as she looked over at Kakashi. "Sakura will never be one hundred percent fine." She told him, her eyes saddening before she blinked and turned back to Hiruzen. "Please, do not hesitate in calling me. I have filled in a form already and gave the receptionist my phone number, my home number and my work number."

Sakura frowned. When had her mother done all that? Had it been when Sakura was too busy trying to ignore her viewers?

"Mebuki–san, Kakashi knows what he is doing, please listen to him. He may seem young but he is good at what he does."

"Okay," Mebuki said quietly, looking away from Hiruzen and over to Sakura as she bit her lip with worry.

"I'll be fine." Sakura told her mother with a roll of her eyes.

Mebuki nodded before standing up. Giving her daughter one last worried glance, the woman was dismissed. Then, Hiruzen turned back to Sakura, as did Kakashi.

Being alone in a single room with two men made Sakura nervous, but she refused to show it. No, she knew that they wouldn't hurt her. Even though Sakura had never met Kakashi before, she knew Hiruzen well enough to know that he thought of every student in the school as his own children. It was strange, but apparently true.

"So do I just go straight to lessons now?" Sakura asked, a little unsure.

Hiruzen looked at Kakashi, who then answered Sakura's question as she also looked up at him. "For now, you will go to your lesson. I have a copy of your timetable and will meet you outside of your lesson before lunch. If you need to see me any other time, my office is just next door to Sarutobi–sama's. This will be our arrangement until you feel comfortable enough to not need me."

"Kakashi will also be on time." Hiruzen said with an edge to his voice. "Won't you, Kakashi?"

The silver haired man sighed dejectedly and lowered his head. "You have such little faith in me, Sarutobi–sama."

Sakura chuckled at Kakashi as Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.

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**A/N - Like I said at the top, this fic is rated 'M' for a reason. Not only will there be multiple lemons, but it is also a rather dark story. Anyways, I hope you all decide to stick with me for this. It isn't my first Gaara/Sakura or Sasuke/Sakura fanfiction, but it is the first that I will be posting of the former, since the others are nowhere near ready to be posted. Also, I think this will be my first ever love triangle story, too.**

**If there is ever a point where any of the characters are OOC, please tell me! Not only that, but also grammar errors and spelling errors.**

**I don't appreciate flames!**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and don't forget to leave a review! :-)**


	2. I'm Different Now

**Chapter 2 – I'm Different Now**

Sakura inwardly growled.

It was her first day back and she was already late to her first lesson. Sure, she had a pass and sure, it was for good reason, but that only meant that when she entered her lesson, people were going to stare at her.

And stare they did.

It had always annoyed Sakura how the whole class would stare at you as though you just killed someone when you were late. However, when they realised who it was, they all started whispering amongst themselves like they had done earlier that morning. The teacher looked equally as shocked to see Sakura in her classroom, but pushed her shock aside quickly as she stood up and stepped towards Sakura.

"Settle down!" The teacher snapped before turning to Sakura and softening her tone considerably. "Sakura, it's nice to see you have returned." She smiled and Sakura immediately felt guilty that she couldn't remember the teacher's name. After taking her pass, she spoke again. "Please take a seat besides Hinata."

Sakura turned and looked over the class, ignoring how many people were still staring at her. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Sakura turned towards the teacher again. "Uh... who's Hinata?"

"Oh, you probably won't have seen her before, I believe this is your first class together and you have been away for a while." The teacher said quickly, noticing how uncertain and ashamed Sakura seemed. With a gentle smile, the teacher pointed towards the back. "Hinata is the dark haired girl on the back row."

She nodded once at the teacher before moving forward. Her eyes once again swept over the students who continued to stare at her, until her eyes caught a familiar pair of empty ones and froze. It felt as though her heart had started to beat much faster as Sakura quickly looked away and sat down next to Hinata.

Glancing at the girl, Sakura gave her a quick smile, since she looked utterly uncomfortable having Sakura sit next to her. Her dark hair was cropped short into a pixie cut, framing her face beautifully and her surprisingly pale lavender eyes were wide with shock. Even without makeup, Hinata was stunning. Her pale skin seemed absolutely flawless, almost making Sakura envious. In return to her smile, Hinata also smiled before facing forward.

"What's the teacher's name?" Sakura asked quietly, looking over at Hinata.

Hinata looked as though she was uncertain on whether to reply or not, but then looked up at Sakura. "H–her name is Kurenai–sensei."

Sakura nodded, storing away the name for future reference, before placing her elbows onto the desk and leaning into her hands. Thankfully, because she was on the back row, not many people could stare at her unless they turned around to do so. However, the person in front of her was so tense that it was starting to make Sakura really uneasy. Bouncing her knee up and down quickly, she tore her eyes away from him and looked around the room, trying to see if she recognised anyone else.

There were a couple of people she recognised, mostly guys, but no more than two or three that she really knew. The first guy was called Kiba, the second called Shikamaru, the third was Choji. At some point, they had all been friends, but they hadn't talked in months.

Turning back to look at the guy in front of her, Sakura sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

Sasuke…

She had messed things up big time with him and that was an understatement. In the whole eight months she had been away, neither of them had attempted to call the other or see them. Well, Sakura couldn't, but him? Sasuke had nothing stopping him from picking up a phone or coming over to her house. She shook the angry thoughts from her head since she had no right to be angry with him. They hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms. In fact, that whole night had been disastrous and at one point, completely life changing.

Before her thoughts could go further, Sakura forced them to stop. She did not need to remember that night. Not now, not ever.

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"I'll be back in a couple of moments," Kakashi told her, his eyes crinkling as he smiled.

Sakura's eyes widened a fraction. "What? Where are you going? Why?"

She didn't want to be left alone in this place so soon, especially in the cafeteria. It had only been a couple of hours and already Sakura felt as though she had received glares from just about everyone in the school. It made her stomach twist uneasily at the thought of being left alone with them. Would they confront her? Would they all gang up on her?

After her first lesson, which had been English, her others had been uneventful. People still stared as she walked to and from lessons, none of them really making the effort to come and talk to her. Which was fine by her, she didn't make any effort to either. However, it hurt that none of her old friends tried to speak to her.

"To use the bathroom," Kakashi shrugged. "Apparently teachers aren't supposed to use the students' bathrooms, so I have to walk down a little further. I'll be no more than five minutes."

Her heart started beating faster as she gripped a tighter hold of her tray. "Five minutes?"

Kakashi nodded once, noticing her anxiousness. "I promise."

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and nodding once in agreement. Whilst she didn't want to be left alone, Sakura knew it would be good for her. If Kakashi didn't do this, then she would never be able to face them by herself. As Sakura watched Kakashi walk away at a fast pace, she took deep, calming breaths and waited in line to pay for her lunch.

After a couple of moments however, the hope that had been growing in Sakura's chest died as she realised she wouldn't be left alone.

"Why the hell did you come back here?" A familiar voice screeched angrily, catching everyone's attention in the cafeteria.

Sakura looked over her shoulder and frowned as she saw Ino before she fully turned around. It made her feel uneasy having her back to someone when they sounded so angry with her. When she was facing her, she had to hold back a gasp at the amount of hatred she could see in Ino's eyes. Never before had Sakura ever had Ino hate her and she would be lying to herself if she said it didn't hurt. However, instead of admitting it or showing her sadness, Sakura put on a cold front. "Why do you care?"

Ino glared viciously at Sakura as she stepped closer, trying to intimidate her. By now, many people had started to crowd around the two girls, Sakura's old friends included. As she looked at their faces, Sakura saw Naruto looking torn and Sasuke looking as indifferent as ever. Again, instead of showing her hurt, Sakura simply stared Ino down.

"You ruined everything!" The blonde yelled, once again stepping forward.

"Please," Sakura snorted, despite the fact her heart was racing, "if you're going to try and intimidate me, you're going to have to try harder than that. I'm not some snot–nosed first year, Ino, so don't treat me like one."

The other girl barked out a laugh. "No, you're just the slut of the year who ruins relationships and breaks hearts."

The pink haired girl's eyebrows furrowed as she glanced at Sasuke and Naruto and then back to Ino, who was now smirking.

"Yeah, they hate you too, you know." Ino told her in a matter–of–factly voice.

Sakura shrugged indifferently even though it hurt to hear such things. "I guess it can't be helped. If that's how they feel, then that's fine by me." Her brows furrowed once again as Sakura lowered her head a fraction. "I'm only here to finish the school year."

"Don't try to lie to me because I can see right through you." Ino scoffed. "I made you."

"I think you'll find my parents made me." She quipped.

Ino's face flushed red as she clenched her fists tightly. "You know what I mean! Before I was your friend, you were a 'nobody' and not a single person cared about you. I made you into who you are today."

"You don't even know me." Sakura spat angrily as she threw her tray to the ground so that her hands were free. Her plate smashed whilst the sound of her cutlery clashing with the ground seemed to echo around the room. People gasped in surprise as they watched Sakura step forward, her anger screaming out of every part of her body. "You have no idea what I've been through these last eight months, so don't you dare try to act as though you know who I am!"

Once again, Ino smirked as she placed a hand on her hip. "Oh? And what have you been through exactly, hm? Loads of rumours went round about you, some saying you were sent away to deal with a drug addiction, others saying you were pregnant."

Sakura rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. "Ha! I wish. A drug addiction would have been much more preferable."

For a second, a flash of uncertainty showed in Ino's eyes and as it did, Sakura's eyes darted over to Naruto, who was looking as though he wanted to speak to her and then to Sasuke, who simply stared back at her.

"Stop trying to make people feel sorry for you!" Ino yelled. "Nobody cares about you Sakura; once again, you're just a 'nobody'."

Again, Sakura shrugged. "Like I said, I'm not here for any of that. I'm here for my education."

Her words were really starting to get to her and no matter how hard she tried, Sakura couldn't push the pessimistic thoughts back. It was easy keeping the tears away, keeping a straight face, but on the inside, Sakura felt as though she was falling apart. It seemed Naruto could see she was close to breaking point since he stepped forward with a frown on his face.

"Ino, just leave her alone."

A few people in the crowd yelled and muttered in agreement.

The blonde shook her head before looking at him in disbelief. "Don't you remember the state you were in when she just left? Don't you remember that fight you guys had, how she tore you and Sasuke–kun apart?"

This time, Sakura wasn't able to hold back as she yelled at Ino. "I did not tear them apart! I loved them both so much and you know that better than anyone, Ino. I can't believe you're trying to use something like that against me!"

Ino turned back to Sakura and glared. "You broke Naruto's heart, you cold bitch." She hissed, advancing on her as she did so. "Not only did he lose the girl he loved, but he also lost his best friend. Not only did I lose the guy I loved, but I also lost my best friend." Ino was now right in Sakura's face, but the latter refused to back down as she strengthened her stance and returned Ino's glare. "Because of you, everybody was left broken. You're nothing but a back stabbing whore."

Even though her tears were obvious, Sakura refused to let them fall as she glared at Ino. Before long her bottom lip was trembling, as were her fists. "Shut up."

"Why? Everyone knows it. In fact, not a single person in this cafeteria can stand you after what you did."

"Shut up." Sakura spat.

Ino narrowed her eyes at the pink haired girl, ignoring how several people were telling her to just leave it. "You should never have come back here, Sakura. When you disappeared everything became so much better. You wouldn't even believe how happy your leaving made me. So why don't you just crawl back into your hole and rot there?"

Before anyone could react, Sakura punched Ino before grabbing a fistful of her hair and slamming Ino's face into her knee. The blonde howled in pain as Sakura threw her to the ground, quickly following as she straddled her. Her face was twisted with anger, pain and sadness as she grabbed Ino's collar and brought her up until they were eye–to–eye. Ino's nose and lip were both busted and her right eye was closed and twitching every couple of seconds.

"You have no idea what I've been through," Sakura repeated through clenched teeth. "Don't ever try to act like you know me. I don't know what I did to you to make you hate me so much–"

"You fucked Sasuke–kun!" Ino screeched.

Everybody grew silent for a couple of seconds and out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Naruto flinch whilst Sasuke tensed.

Ino's open eye filled with tears, but she refused to let them fall. "You knew exactly how I felt about him! You knew that I was going to tell him that I loved him, so what did you go and do? You jumped on him like some horny slut!"

Sakura's eyes were wide as she leaned back from Ino, her hold loosening. "How did you find out?"

"I saw you both!" Ino snapped. "I saw you on top of him and his arms around you whilst you rode him." Many people cringed at Ino's crass speech. "I came over to ask you what I should wear when I told Sasuke–kun I loved him and what did I see? I saw him getting fucked by my best friend!"

"That's enough, Ino!" Sasuke snapped. The back of his neck was burning red as people continued to stare at him in shock.

Ino shook her head. "I have no idea what you've been through? Well, you have no idea what I went through after seeing that."

Sakura closed her eyes and shook her head slowly as she chuckled humourlessly, making people watch her warily. If only Ino knew. If only that idiotic, self–centred bitch knew the truth about what had happened. If only she knew why she had stopped going out, why her mother had hidden her away from the public, why she had to see Tsunade every week.

"You're so stupid," Sakura mumbled before speaking louder. "What you felt for Sasuke wasn't love! What I felt for him was love. Ever since we were children, I had feelings for Sasuke, but he would always turn me down. As we got older my feelings deepened and he started to notice me more but still wouldn't do anything about the way he felt. Then, one night, I was watching a movie with Naruto and one thing led to another. Nothing else happened between us and it was a one–time thing. What happened with Sasuke was…" She shook her head, trying to find the right words. "It happened more than once and–"

"Shut up!" Ino shouted in Sakura's face before throwing her off of her. The blonde was quick to follow as she pinned Sakura down and punched her. "I don't want to know about these things!" She screamed before grabbing Sakura's hair.

"Sakura!" Kakashi called out in shock before rushing over as another teacher pulled Ino off of Sakura. He helped Sakura up, assessing her for any serious damage, but it seemed as though Ino was the only one badly hurt since her nose looked as though it was gushing blood. "Take her to the nurse's office." Then, Kakashi turned back to Sakura. "I'm sorry, I was gone for five minutes and when I returned–"

Sakura shook her head and forced her tears back, ignoring everyone as they stared at her and Kakashi in shock. "It's fine. Just… please get me out of here, Kakashi. I think my mother was right, it's too soon."

Kakashi wasn't a teacher who was often seen around. He was a teacher who assisted those with problems, serious problems. Both Sasuke and Naruto exchanged wary glances with each other, wondering what could have happened if Sakura needed Kakashi with her. Also, what did she mean by her mother thought it was too soon? Before anybody could ask questions, Kakashi was guiding Sakura out of the cafeteria whilst Ino was being taken to the nurse's office, calling Sakura names that would make even sailors blush.

* * *

As she and Kakashi stood outside of the headmaster's office together, Sakura wasn't surprised to see that they weren't alone. However, she was surprised that Kakashi knew the other student. He had nodded once, asked him if he was doing well and then gone back to being silent.

"Sakura, take a seat whilst I go in and speak with Sarutobi–sama. There are a few things I need to discuss with him before he speaks with you."

She nodded once before sitting beside the boy Kakashi had spoken to.

His hair was a blood red colour and just like his intense, icy blue eyes, it stood out. Around his eyes were some of the darkest rings Sakura had ever seen, but she wasn't too sure as to whether or not it was eyeliner. Also, she couldn't be too sure since his hair was in the way, but Sakura could have sworn that he had a tattoo on his forehead.

"It is considered rude to stare."

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked down from the hidden mark to his eyes, which were now narrowed as he glared at her. "Sorry," She mumbled, looking away. After a couple of moments of uncomfortable silence, Sakura looked back over at the boy. "My name's Sakura."

"Gaara."

Not having heard his name before, she gave him a small smile. "Are you new here?"

"No." He told her, his voice sounding slightly bitter. "We've been in the same classes for the past three years."

Once again, Sakura's eyes widened. "I never really noticed you before." She said honestly, her cheeks burning with shame and embarrassment. "I didn't really pay any attention to anything back then…"

"Obviously."

Her eyes narrowed a fraction, but Sakura pushed away her anger once again and took a deep breath. "Well, I'm sorry if I ever offended you with my behaviour." She said softly and Gaara looked at her with surprise. "Even I admit that I was kind of a bitch to everyone before… before I left for a couple of months."

Gaara snorted and looked away. "The word 'bitch' is an understatement to how you treated others."

This time, Sakura couldn't keep away the anger in her voice. "What do you mean?"

Once again, his eyes held surprise. "You don't remember?" When Sakura shook her head slowly and looked unsure, Gaara snorted again. "Before you left, you made several teachers cry and quit their jobs by abusing them verbally. You also attacked several students physically."

Sakura's eyes were wide as she stared at Gaara in shock. Raising a shaking hand to her mouth, Sakura looked away as her eyes filled with tears. Had she really done those things? Had she really attacked people, made people cry and quit their jobs? The thought alone made Sakura feel awful. No. She shook her head gently, forcing back her tears. No, she was better now… but that didn't stop the guilt from making it hard to breathe.

"Are…" Sakura looked down at her legs before looking back up into Gaara's eyes, "are those people I attacked both physically and verbally okay?"

Gaara shrugged. "I didn't care enough to find out and I still don't."

"Oh," Sakura whispered, leaning back in her seat and staring at the door to Sarutobi's office.

Whilst she continued to wait, Sakura's fingers drummed against the arm of her chair as her eyes scanned the small reception. There wasn't much to it. In the farthest corner by the opened door was a single large plant. The receptionist desk took up most of the room, but at that moment in time, it was vacant. Sakura wasn't sure if it was normal for the receptionist to leave the front desk unattended, had it always been that way? Looking away from the desk, Sakura looked at the notices on the board until a half–amused voice spoke and interrupted her thoughts.

"You act as though you've never been here before." Kakashi said from the doorway, watching her with amusement shining in his eyes.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders half–heartedly. "I've been away for a while."

"That you have." Kakashi nodded once in agreement before stepping inside. "Sarutobi–sama will see you now."

With a small nod, Sakura grabbed her bag and walked into the headmaster's office, giving Gaara a small smile as she left. It was a smile that went ignored and unreturned as Gaara merely rolled his eyes and glared at the wall.

As she entered the office, Kakashi followed and closed the door behind him. Behind his desk sat Sarutobi Hiruzen, looking no different than he had only hours before when she had been here with her mother and met Kakashi for the first time ever. There was a frown on his face, making him look at least ten years older as he carefully assessed Sakura's features, much like Kakashi had when he helped her up in the cafeteria. Sakura could see the concern in his eyes and she could see that he was trying to find a way to approach the subject without causing her upset.

"I'm fine." Sakura told him with a small smile. "It'll take a lot more than one of Yamanaka Ino's punches to–"

Hiruzen shook his head, looking displeased as he spoke. "That is not the point, Sakura. It is your first day back here in over eight months and you're already fighting."

Kakashi frowned as he stepped in. "If I may, Sarutobi–sama, but Sakura was fine until I left. In fact, she tried asking me to stay by her side."

"Then why did you leave?"

The silver haired man raised a hand and scratched the back of his head whilst chuckling sheepishly. "I needed the bathroom and since it is inappropriate for me to use the student's bathroom, I had to walk all the way to the fourth corridor."

Hiruzen shook his head in disbelief. "You couldn't have used the bathroom before lunch?"

He shrugged. "I have a habit of being late, you see, and I didn't want to risk it."

"Say no more."

Hiruzen sighed. He already knew of Kakashi's tardiness. Then, he looked over at Sakura, who was currently looking out of the large window behind his desk with a vacant expression. Kakashi cleared his throat once and nudged her, causing Sakura to shake her head softly and look up him before looking back at her headmaster and mumbling an apology.

"Kakashi tells me that you think your return was too soon, is this correct?"

Sakura frowned and looked down at the ground before looking back at Hiruzen, her eyes burning with determination. "That is true, but now I wish to stay here." She told the two, surprising them. "I did not spend the past two months begging to come back to have someone like Ino ruin this. I don't care if the other students don't want me here; I'm not here to be the horrible, messed up and disgusting girl I once was. I'm here for my education, because I want to change myself and prove my mother wrong. I'm ready for this."

Hiruzen smiled kindly at Sakura whilst Kakashi's smile was hidden beneath his mask. Then, Hiruzen rose from his seat and moved around his desk until he was in front of it. "I'm glad. For the rest of the month, or until the others accept your return, Kakashi will stay with you during your lessons. Your mother is very worried about you and you were there when both Kakashi and I promised to keep a close eye on you."

She nodded once. "I understand."

Seeing the saddened look in her eye, Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled even though she couldn't see it. "Small steps, Sakura. They will eventually accept you again – these things just take time."

Sakura huffed and folded her arms over her chest, a playful look in her eyes as she tried to keep from smiling. "I'm just sad that I'm stuck with you for even longer, Hatake." Kakashi chuckled, as did Hiruzen. However, the look playful look in Sakura's eyes faded as she remembered something. Almost hesitantly, Sakura looked at her headmaster with guilty eyes, "Sarutobi–sama?"

"Yes Sakura?"

"Did… I mean…" Shaking her head softly, Sakura averted her eyes and bit her lower lip. "Are those teachers okay, the ones who quit… because of me?"

The humour also left Hiruzen's eyes as he sighed. "They are. Do not feel guilty about what happened, Sakura. Yes, the way you had acted was wrong, but we know why that was now. The three teachers who quit are now working in other schools and say that perhaps leaving had been for the best. One teacher is even getting married after falling in love with another teacher in her new school."

The news did nothing to make Sakura feel better, but she gave a small, half–hearted smile and nodded.

"As for your punishment for fighting," Hiruzen said with another sigh, "even though you were provoked, you will still need to be punished just like other students. So, you will spend two hours after school in detention starting tomorrow night for the next two weeks. The janitor was asking for some helpers, now he has some."

Sakura nodded. "I understand, Sarutobi–sama."

"Good." Hiruzen said. "There is still fifteen minutes left of lunch and your mother stressed that we must make sure you eat. Kakashi, get the girl some lunch and she will spend the rest of it and next period in your office until things have calmed down."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm going to pop one of these days if my mother has her way."

Kakashi chuckled and patted her shoulder. "Come on. My office is next door, go wait in there and I'll be back in a short while. Is there anything in particular that you want?"

Shrugging, Sakura walked towards the door and answered over her shoulder. "Just get me anything, I don't mind."

Gaara was still sitting in his seat when she left the office. However, his eyes were closed and his breathing was even. Sakura frowned as she looked at him. Had he fallen asleep? When she had been waiting with him to be seen, he hadn't seemed tired. Had he fainted? Oh God… what if he had fainted?

Walking over to the boy, Sakura was just about to shake his shoulder when a hand caught her wrist and pulled her away from Gaara. With a gasp, Sakura turned quickly and was met by a pair of dark eyes which she immediately knew belonged to Kakashi. "What–"

"Gaara doesn't appreciate being touched." He told her quietly before looking over at the boy whose eyes were now open and glaring at Sakura. "Relax," Kakashi told Gaara with a firm voice as he released Sakura's wrist. "It was an honest mistake – Sakura didn't know any better."

Gaara scoffed and sat back in his seat, angry at himself for dozing off in such a place. "Of course she doesn't. People like me disgust people like her."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura demanded, her fists doubling at her sides.

His eyes darted down to Sakura's hands before looking back into her eyes with cold glare. Then, Gaara stood up from his seat, but the movement didn't seem to intimidate Sakura like it was supposed to, she simply returned his glare. However, he could see the small shift in her eyes, telling him that he was making her uneasy. "It means that spoiled brats like you, who live picture–perfect lives and have nothing to worry about, don't care about anything or anyone other than themselves."

"That is enough, Gaara."

Sakura waved off Kakashi, her eyes piercing a hole into Gaara's as his did the same to hers. "No, Kakashi let him speak. Let him make himself look like an idiot."

"I'm the idiot?" Gaara chuckled darkly.

"Yes, you are!" Sakura snapped. "You're quick to judge others based on small facts you know about them. Yes, I'll admit, I am a spoiled brat and yes, I used to care about nothing other than myself. But now, whilst I may look as though I live in a picture perfect home, whilst my family look like nothing is wrong," By now, tears were forming in Sakura's eyes, but she refused to let them fall, "we're not perfect and we have a lot to care and worry about."

Gaara snorted. "Sure you do." Then, Gaara picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. However, instead of immediately walking into Sarutobi's office, he looked over his shoulder at Sakura, a small crease forming between his brows. "You should stop crying so much." He told her, surprising Kakashi and Sakura. Hell, he even surprised himself. "If they see you crying, they will think they have won."

With that, Gaara entered the office and slammed the door behind him.

She took a deep, shaky breath as she continued to stare at the door in shock and confusion. One minute, Gaara had been yelling at her and calling her a spoilt brat and then the next, he was giving her advice. What was his deal? Did he like confusing the hell out of people?

Before she could think about it any further, Sakura found herself being steered into an office. She didn't need to look over her shoulder to know that it was Kakashi who was moving her. With a quick 'I'll be back in five minutes', Kakashi was out of his office, the door shutting behind him as he rushed back to the cafeteria.

As Sakura waited for him to return, she sat down on the sofa in his office and leaned back as she thought about what had happened. Sakura had expected some people to be unhappy with her, but she never would have thought that her three best friends would have turned against her! The thought made her want to burst into tears and Sakura would have, if Gaara's words hadn't shone in bright lights in her mind.

"_If they see you crying, they will think they have won._"

Sakura could sense that there was a deeper meaning to his words, but whatever that meaning was, it was none of her business. After all, she hated it when people pried, so it would be hypocritical of her to do the same. However that didn't stop their conversations from replaying in her mind – both the first and the second.

Had Gaara really been in her classes for the past three years? Surely she would have seen him before! After all, it wasn't until the end of the second year that she started to change. Why had she never noticed him before? He wasn't exactly hard to miss, what with those startling blue eyes and his blood red hair. Maybe Gaara was one of those guys who chose to be quiet and stay at the back with his head down? Maybe he was a loner, a social outcast? Sakura shrugged. Even though she felt bad about never noticing him before, it was still none of her business as to why he was the way he was.

It had taken him a lot longer than he said, but after waiting for twenty minutes, Kakashi finally returned and handed Sakura a chicken mayonnaise sandwich, an apple, a packet of doritos and a bottle of coke. She raised an eyebrow at him, wondering how he had guessed her favourite flavours and food, but Kakashi simply smiled sheepishly.

"I had to find out what you preferred, hence why I took so long."

"You didn't have to do that." Sakura told him, although extremely grateful that he had.

He had probably rung her mother and asked her. After all, Mebuki had asked to be updated if anything happened and since Sakura had been in a fight, she would have been informed. Therefore, whilst he was already on the phone to the woman, he could have asked her what Sakura liked to eat.

However, what Sakura didn't know was that it wasn't her mother who had told him what her favourite foods were. It had been a boy with blond hair and blue eyes – Kakashi couldn't remember his name, though he did look familiar to him. Whilst Kakashi had been looking over the food, trying to guess what to get her, the blond haired kid had walked over to him with another boy who had both dark hair and eyes. The two had stood on the right side of him and after the blond boy had muttered what food Sakura liked, he had then asked if she was okay.

It surprised Kakashi to say the least. If the boys were so concerned about her, why hadn't either of them helped her? Why had they not stepped in and defended her when Ino had her pinned and was pulling her hair? Kakashi hadn't bothered asking, although he did answer their question and told them that she would be fine. However, when they then went onto questioning him why she had left for so long, Kakashi had paid for Sakura's food, made up an excuse that he was too busy to play twenty questions, and left.

Sakura took the food Kakashi offered her and once again leaned back against the sofa. "Thanks."

He shrugged and walked over to his desk, pulling a book out of the top drawer before sitting down. Kakashi opened the book, revealing the title to her just as Sakura took a swig of her coke and in response, she started to choke. Her face flushed red as she tried to breathe until finally, she managed to calm herself.

Kakashi looked over to her and raised a brow. "Is something wrong?"

Shaking her head, Sakura placed her bottle onto the table and picked up her sandwich. Just as Kakashi turned back to his book, Sakura spoke. "I prefer tactics."

This time, it was Kakashi who seemed to choke – but on nothing but air. The man immediately sat up and looked at Sakura with shock obvious in his eyes. His reaction made Sakura smirk and Kakashi slowly placed his book onto the desk, looking at Sakura the whole time. "You've read the Icha Icha series?"

"Yeah," Sakura shrugged, acting as though it wasn't a big deal. To her, it wasn't. "After all, I was locked away against my will for eight months and I do own a credit card. I ordered the whole series and read them all in less than month."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "How did you get them? You're not over eighteen."

Sakura looked at Kakashi as though he was an idiot before taking another bite. "No," She said slowly after swallowing the food in her mouth, "but my father is. Since he pays for my credit card, I just had them sent in his name." When Kakashi continued to stare at her in shock and amazement, Sakura chuckled. "You're acting as though I'm the only one who has done something like that! I used to buy a lot worse than smutty books whilst lying about my age, you know!"

As more memories flashed before her eyes and Kakashi still didn't say anything, Sakura wrapped up the rest of her sandwich before placing it on the table, suddenly not feeling hungry anymore and just the thought of eating made her want to throw up.

* * *

_"Come on Ino!" Sakura hissed as she stepped out of the car. Turning around and sticking her head back in to look on the backseat, she rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're chickening out on us now."_

_Ino glared at Sakura before pushing the front seat forward and climbing out. As soon as she was stood up, the blonde fixed her skirt and fluffed her hair before looking back at Sakura. "So what exactly is the plan?"_

_Sakura ignored Ino for a couple of seconds as she said something to Sasuke and Naruto before closing the car door and looking back at the blonde. "We're going to go and buy some vodka for the party, pig."_

_"You're such an idiot," Ino rolled her eyes, "there is no way we're going to get served – neither of us are eighteen!"_

_"No, but we look it," Sakura smirked and placed a hand on her hip. "Why do you think we're so dressed up already? The party isn't for another two hours!"_

_Ino frowned as she glanced at the shop. "Are you sure this'll work? It will be downright humiliating if the clerk refuses to serve us."_

_"Please," Sakura scoffed over her shoulder as she started to walk forward. "Sasuke came by here not too long ago and I asked him to see who was working here tonight."_

_Ino's frown deepened, but before she could say anything more, Sakura had opened the door and stepped into the shop. She held it open for the blonde and once Ino had grabbed the handle, Sakura strutted forward towards the counter, her hips dipping as she did. Her body language screamed confidence as Sakura leaned over the counter and smiled, giving the clerk a good view of her cleavage._

_The clerk was around eighteen – obviously still in school or just starting college. His hair was brown and his eyes were dark, but none of that mattered to Sakura. Hell, she didn't even glance at his name tag. The guy seemed amazed by her pink hair, but his eyes were soon drawn to her breasts._

_Chuckling, Sakura leaned forward even further and ran a finger up his chest, startling him as she followed through until tilting his chin up so he was looking her in the eye. "My eyes are up here." She whispered playfully, retracting her arm._

_He seemed completely floored as her vivid emerald green eyes held him in a trance. "How can I help you?" He asked in a husky voice._

_Liking the affect she was having, Sakura looked over her shoulder and motioned with her head towards Ino, who walked over to the counter and smiled at the clerk. "My friend and I are going to a house party tonight," Sakura told him, not missing how his eyes were hungrily taking in their bodies, "but, we forgot to grab some drinks before leaving, right Ino?"_

_Ino nodded and chuckled, "We can be so ditzy sometimes."_

_"We can." Sakura nodded in agreement before facing him again. "We'll take four bottles of your strongest vodka, please."_

_The clerk nodded as though in a daze before asking, "Do you have any I.D?"_

_The two girls watched him carefully. Ino was about ready to bolt, knowing they weren't going to be served whilst Sakura stayed calm and smiled. "We left almost everything back at my place," She told him before reaching into her bra, his eyes following every move she made, "but lucky for us, I always keep my money in a safe place."_

_He nodded after swallowing loudly. "Looks very safe," He said in a strained voice._

_"It is." She said, leaning forward once again and resting her elbows onto the counter. Raising the money, Sakura raised a brow. "So will you be kind enough to serve us, please?"_

_The clerk looked torn as he grimaced. "I'm not supposed to serve you without seeing some I.D."_

_Sakura frowned prettily whilst Ino sighed. Then, an idea struck Sakura. "How about we make a deal?"_

_Looking interested, he nodded quickly._

_"How about," Sakura said slowly, allowing the suspense to grow as Ino shifted slightly and watched her warily, "I come back here when your shift is over and prove that I'm eighteen?"_

_By now, his heart was beating so hard it was about to come shooting right out of his chest. There was sweat slowly dripping down his temple as his eyes practically devoured Sakura's body. Shifting slightly, the boy looked back into her eyes. "How do I know you're not lying?"_

_Sakura looked at Ino, who was looking at her as though she had grown a second head, before looking back towards the clerk. She leaned even further forward and beckoned him closer with one of her fingers. As soon as he leaned over the counter, Sakura ran one of her hands over his, trailing it up his arm, over his shoulder until eventually, her hand was in his hair. Once again, he swallowed loudly just as Sakura closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his. The clerk was quick to return her kiss as he cupped her face and deepened it. However, just as his hand started to trail down towards her neck to bring her closer, Sakura pulled away. "I promise I'll come back."_

_He nodded quickly before turning and grabbing five bottles of vodka. As he placed them down onto the counter and grabbed a bag, he looked over at Sakura and Ino. "The fifth one is on me."_

_"Such a gentleman," Sakura smiled, "isn't he, Ino?"_

_Ino gave a quick smile and nodded. "Yeah," She mumbled, "such a gentleman."_

_Before leaving the shop with their alcohol, Sakura looked over her shoulder and winked. "I'll see you later, then."_

_"I finish at one." He smirked, eyeing her behind as she chuckled and nodded her head._

_As soon as they were outside Ino was stomping towards the car and by the time Sakura had rolled her eyes, she was back in her seat with an angry scowl on her face. Tightening her grip on her bag, Sakura followed Ino and got into the passenger front seat next to Sasuke. She lifted the bag with a victorious smile on her lips and handed it over to Naruto, who was sitting in the back and eyeing Ino carefully, as though she was about to snap._

_And she did._

_"Are you crazy? What the hell were you playing at?" Ino snapped as soon as Sasuke started driving._

_The two boys looked at her in confusion – one through the mirror, the other from beside her. Sakura just rolled her eyes and smiled. "I got the drinks, didn't I?"_

_"Yeah," Ino said, still sounding angry, "but was it worth it?"_

_This time, Sasuke and Naruto were looking at her, but Sakura only shrugged as she reached down and grabbed her bag. "It wasn't too bad – I'd say six or seven."_

_"What does that mean?" Sasuke demanded, keeping his eyes on the road but kept shooting her looks every now and then._

_Sakura rolled her eyes as she pulled out her lip gloss, but it was Ino who answered. "Sakura had to persuade him to serve us!"_

_"What?" Naruto and Sasuke both yelled as the latter pulled over, ignoring the angry drivers behind him who beeped. Then, he turned in his seat, glaring at Sakura. "What does she mean, you persuaded him?"_

_Again, Sakura rolled her eyes and shrugged. "It was only a kiss – nothing to get upset about."_

_"You kissed him?" Naruto all but exploded._

_"It was only a kiss?" Ino demanded, her face turning red due to her anger. "You promised him you would go back when his shift was over! What are you going to do then? Get on your knees, spread your legs?"_

_Both boys grimaced as the image of Sakura doing those things to other men filled their minds, but Sakura's chuckling brought them out of it._

_"Please," She smirked and put her lip gloss back. "Just because I said I was going to go back, doesn't mean that I will." Then, Sakura turned in her seat and grabbed the bag she had just handed to Naruto. Taking one of the bottles, she turned back around and opened it. "He may have been hot, but I have my eyes on someone else."_

_With that said Sakura placed the bottle to her lips and took a mouthful. Her face twisted for a second before she wiped the sides of her mouth and chuckled. "At least he wasn't too out of it – he did get us the strongest stuff!"_

_Naruto watched Sakura with a hint of sadness in his eyes, but the wariness and concern was much stronger and only if you really looked could you see the sadness. Sasuke watched Sakura and as she caught his eyes for a second, she could see the burning look in them that made her stomach warm. Then, through the mirror, Sakura saw Ino watching Sasuke before quickly grabbing the bottle and copying Sakura._

_The blonde giggled after she shuddered from the sour taste. "You're right!"_

_The two girls both started laughing as though they hadn't just been arguing as Sasuke started to drive again._

* * *

Sakura looked down at the ground as Kakashi regarded her silently. Inwardly telling herself that she was different now, that she had changed, Sakura took a deep breath and grabbed her drink. She closed her eyes as she drunk at least a good half of the bottle, willing for the bad memories to go away along with the bitter taste in her mouth.

Whilst they had been fun at the time, now Sakura only regretted her actions. Both Sasuke and Naruto had demanded that she never returned to the shop in case the clerk tried something – and she didn't. She had been telling the truth when she told the two boys and Ino that she already had her eyes on someone, but that never stopped her from acting like – in Ino's words – a whore.

There was so much that Sakura wanted to go back in time and change. There was so much hurt that she had caused, so much upset and heartbreak. Leaning back in her seat, Sakura stared up at the ceiling with a harsh glare. So many people had been hurt because of her actions, because of who she had been. She clenched her fists tightly, causing her knuckles to dig into her thighs almost painfully. They had been hurt so many times because of her – but not anymore. No. If they didn't want to speak to her, then fine, but they could at least hear her out, listen to her apology. It was then up to them if they wanted to accept it or not.

* * *

**A/N - Thank you to those who have reviewed! :-)  
**


	3. Taking Chances

**Chapter 3 – Taking Chances**

Her mother had been unbearably observant and just _there_ after hearing about her fight with Ino, if you could even call it a fight. From the moment Sakura had entered the car, right until the moment she got out the day after Mebuki just would not leave her alone. She would repeatedly ask if Sakura was okay, whether or not she needed anything, was she comfortable enough, did she want to talk. It all started to grate on Sakura's nerves. Sure, she knew her mother was just being considerate and wanted to make sure she was okay, but damn it! Despite what they may think, she was _not_ made of glass.

Mebuki hadn't been too pleased when she learned that Sakura would be in detention every night for the next two weeks. In fact, she had called Sarutobi and actually asked him if he could choose a less severe punishment. Sakura had tried to argue, tried to tell her mother that it wasn't even that bad, but Mebuki refused to listen. It wasn't until Sarutobi had told the woman that he was simply following Sakura's wishes, to be treated like every other student that Mebuki finally seemed to agree. Albeit, reluctantly.

People still stared at her, still gossiped. It was just as bad as the previous day, even more so because of her fight. It also didn't help that she and Kakashi were pretty much attached at the hip now. Wherever she went, he followed. He didn't seem to mind too much, but Sakura could tell her lessons bored him. Hell, he had even pulled Icha Icha out during one of her lessons, causing her maths teacher, Gemna, to chuckle and shake his head in amusement. It seemed as though they knew one another, especially when Gemna came over to them and started speaking to Kakashi. He tried to make it look as though he was explaining the work to Sakura, but nobody was stupid enough to believe that.

Now that it had been pointed out to her, Sakura also noticed that Gaara_ was_ in quite a lot of her classes. How the hell she had failed to notice him before was beyond her, but Sakura refused to feel bad. There were a lot of people she had never noticed before and it worked both ways. Just because she had never spoken to him, it didn't mean that he could have never spoken to _her_.

Gaara mainly stayed at the back of the classes with his head down. As well as watching her, Kakashi had also watched Gaara out of the corner of his eyes. It was something that neither of the troubled students had failed to notice. At first, Sakura didn't think that Gaara even realised he was also being watched, but after a lesson or two, the boy had started to grow restless. His eyes would narrow every so often and his fists would clench. When this happened, Kakashi would simply sigh and go back to his book.

During lunch, Sakura and Kakashi ate in his office. They went to the cafeteria first, jumped to the front of the queue and bought their lunches before leaving. Sakura had seen both Sasuke and Naruto bickering as they entered the cafeteria. Their eyes had connected for a moment but just as Sakura had been about to say something Naruto had looked away with a frown. She would have continued to say something, but Sasuke looked just as unapproachable as Naruto.

Kakashi seemed to sense her saddened mood as he watched her pick at her food for a few moments. Then, trying to lighten the mood, he asked, "So why is tactics your favourite?"

She couldn't help the small smile that curved her lips at that. It had only been a day and a half, but Sakura had already learned that Kakashi enjoyed – and she meant _enjoyed_ – his Icha Icha books. "Tactics has a better storyline and I preferred the main character."

"Ah," Kakashi mumbled as though in deep thought. "Perhaps you would appreciate paradise more when you're much older."

"I doubt there's anything I would see then that I haven't seen already." She snorted before continuing quickly. "Besides, you don't look that much older than me. What are you, twenty three, twenty four?"

An unseen smile caused Kakashi's eyes to crinkle. "I'm glad that you think I look so young, Sakura–chan."

She raised a brow at him before pointing at him with her fork. "Don't think you can just avoid my question, Kakashi–_sensei_. How old are you?"

"I don't see why that matters." Kakashi sighed before giving her a grin. "I would still only look around twenty four!"

Rolling her eyes, Sakura shoved more food into her mouth and after swallowing, she spoke again. "That's only because you keep half of your face covered." When he made no reply, Sakura once again raised a brow. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Wear a mask." Sakura replied before stabbing more food onto her food. "I mean, back when I was a kid, I would always have long bangs or wear a ribbon in my hair because I was insecure about my big ass forehead. So, is it the same with you? Are you insecure about your looks or something?"

Kakashi sighed as he turned a page in his book. "Would you believe me if I told you I have a low immune system?"

After another bite, Sakura hummed as she shrugged, "Probably not." Seeing that he obviously didn't want to talk about it, Sakura gave Kakashi a smile as she changed the subject. "I know the author of Icha Icha."

The sight of Kakashi's eyes widening as he paused in reading his book amused Sakura greatly as he turned to look at her. "Oh? And how do you know Jiraiya–sama?"

"Mm–hm," She nodded, before pulling a face when she realised he had called Jiraiya 'Jiraiya–sama'. That pervert didn't deserve such a title! "Well, I _sort of_ know him. He's Naruto's Godfather – I haven't seen him in over a year. He's actually the reason why I know about the books in the first place. Whenever I saw him over at Naruto's place, he would always go on and on about them, telling me that they weren't porn, they're a 'master piece'." Sakura rolled her eyes at Jiraiya's choice of wording before continuing. "I guess I got bored enough to read them." Kakashi didn't answer her and when Sakura looked up, she saw him staring at her. Self–consciously, the girl frowned and looked away. "What?"

He shook his head. "You act so much older than what you are."

Sakura snorted. "You've read my files, are you really that surprised?"

"Not really." He spoke honestly.

* * *

It was English. Whilst it had once been one of Sakura's favourite subjects when she was younger, before she left, it had become one of her worst. So now, because she had failed to take any notice of the class, Sakura had_ a lot_ of work to catch up on.

The girl sat beside her, Hyuuga Hinata, finally seemed to be somewhat comfortable with Sakura sat beside her. Sure, there were still moments when she would look at her with wide, unsure eyes and speak with a nervous stutter, but as more time slipped by and Sakura showed her that she wasn't going to hurt her, Hinata started to relax. However, it seemed whenever Sakura spoke, Sasuke, who was sat right in front of her, would tense up.

And it was something that Sakura, Hinata _and_ Kakashi had not failed to notice.

When Kurenai started to speak once again and Kakashi found himself growing bored, he leaned toward Sakura, speaking quietly so only she would hear him. "What happened between you two?"

Sakura stared at Kakashi with wide eyes when she spun around to stare at him. After a couple of seconds though, her shock melted away as she shrugged. "Is it that obvious?"

"Just a little."

Once again, Sakura shrugged. "I messed quite a lot of things up before I left. What happened between me and Sasuke was one of them."

"Ah," Kakashi lifted his head thoughtfully before glancing at Sasuke once again. "Did you offend him or…"

Seeing that he wanted her to fill him in, Sakura gave him a small smile. "You'd have to ask him."

"You don't know what you did wrong?"

"No, I _know_ what I did wrong." Sakura said a little bitterly before sighing. "But, you asked if I had offended him. I don't know whether I have or not."

Kakashi once again answered with an "ah" before turning back to his book after Kurenai shot him a dark look that had Sakura snickering.

* * *

Well.

She had not been expecting this.

It was after school and she had made her way down to the janitor's closet for detention. After dressing in some overalls to keep her uniform clean, Sakura had returned to find she wasn't the only one there. Standing outside of the closet and also wearing overalls was Yamanaka Ino, a boy with extremely pale skin, who Sakura believed to be called Sai, and Gaara.

So it wasn't awkward in the slightest.

Really, it wasn't.

Whilst Ino was busy glaring at Sakura, Sakura was busy trying to look anywhere but at Ino. After seeing Gaara, Sakura had smiled at him and tried to start a conversation, but he simply grunted, nodded once in acknowledgement and looked away. When she had seen Sakura speaking to Gaara, Ino snorted out a laugh.

"Making friends with other nobodies, are we Sakura?"

Gaara gritted his teeth at her remark, causing Sakura to eye him carefully. Kakashi had told her that Gaara had some anger issues and as much as Ino had been – and still was – pissing her off, she didn't want anything to happen to her if she got on Gaara's wrong side. "What's your problem, Ino?" Sakura demanded. "Do you have to belittle everyone? Do you really feel the need to try and make people feel small and worthless?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Save your 'I'm a different person now' speech for someone who cares. I don't want to hear it. You may have disappeared for eight months, but it will never change who you used to be." Then, Ino turned to face Sakura fully as she narrowed her eyes. "You acted so much worse than I do, so don't try to pretend as though you're better than me."

"At least now I'm making an effort to change." Sakura retorted, her own eyes narrowing. "If you want to call me names and put me down, then fine, do whatever you want. But do not think you can do the same to other people who have done nothing wrong to you. Gaara is here to do detention just like the rest of us. He isn't here to listen to your pathetic and uncalled for bitchy remarks."

The two pale boys looked between Sakura and Ino with emotionless eyes. The tension in the air was palpable as Ino clenched her fists as though she was about to attack Sakura, whilst the latter had her arms hanging by her sides. It was as though Sakura wasn't even prepared to defend herself if Ino lunged at her.

"You're just jealous that Sasuke–kun is with me now." Ino laughed suddenly.

Sakura's eyes widened a fraction before she raised a brow. "What does that have to do with anything? We're talking about me and you. Sasuke had nothing to do with this conversation until you brought him up." Just when Ino was about to retort, Sakura finally had enough as she stood straighter and smirked. "What's the matter, _pig_?" She asked patronizingly. "Are you trying to say that you don't want me to go near Sasuke? Are you really _that_ insecure?"

The thought of Ino and Sasuke together hurt Sakura more than she was willing to admit. Whilst she had done nothing to deserve Sasuke giving her another chance, she really did_ not_ like the thought of him being with Ino. Even if it did make him happy, it still hurt her, especially since Ino had been one of her best friends. Although saying that, it would be no different to what she had done, would it?

"I am _not_ insecure!" Ino screeched, her fists tightening even further. "And don't you dare use that name, especially not after everything you've done."

But then again, Sakura could remember almost every piece of gossip she had heard since returning. Even though she had tried to block most of it out, there were still a few juicy pieces that she just couldn't ignore.

"Sure." Sakura snorted as she folded her arms over her chest. "If you weren't insecure, you wouldn't be making up lies that you and Sasuke are together. From what I've heard, Sasuke hasn't been with another girl since I left. Also, I heard Karin telling her friends that she plans on asking him out. Now, if I were you, instead of telling me that Sasuke is yours, you should go and tell her."

Ino visibly bristled as she glared at Sakura. "Whatever, whore."

Once again, Sakura rolled her eyes. "Come up with better insults, pig."

"I thought I told you not to call me that!"

"Like I care," Sakura said emptily as she leaned against the wall and looked up at the clock opposite them. She then turned her head to look at Gaara. "Is this janitor a relative of Kakashi's or something?"

Despite his foul mood, Gaara couldn't stop the smirk that showed. He looked up at the clock, also seeing that the janitor was fifteen minutes late, before looking down at Sakura. "Perhaps."

He didn't like how Sakura had defended him. Sure, some people would have considered it nice to have someone stand up for them, but he was not like other people. He could defend himself perfectly well and didn't need some girl to do it for him. Although, he was glad somebody was finally putting the Yamanaka in her place. She annoyed the hell out of him. If only she were a guy – he would have beaten the crap out of her many times by now.

'_Self–righteous, annoying bitch_,' Gaara thought to himself.

After another ten minutes had passed, the janitor finally showed himself. He seemed like your average old man. His hair was grey due to old age, although Sakura couldn't stop her smirk when she saw it. Gaara also seemed to understand why she was so amused because he also smirked, but otherwise made no attempts to speak to or acknowledge her. The headmaster had told the janitor not to pair Sakura with Ino, which had both girls sighing with relief. Instead, she was partnered up with Gaara. She gave him a smile to which he gave a dark look in reply. Apparently he did not find her amusing. Sakura would be lying if she said that she didn't find his moodiness entertaining. Whilst others were wary around her and careful about what they say, Gaara didn't seem to care. Sure, he didn't know what she had been through or what she was still going through, but it was still refreshing and kind of nice.

She and Gaara had been stationed to the second floor whilst Ino and Sai worked on the first floor and the janitor worked on the ground floor. They were told that they were to clean the bathrooms, hallways and classrooms and once they were done, they could leave. It tired Sakura out just the thought of all the rooms they were about to clean.

Gaara was pretty much silent as they started to clean the classrooms. As they moved from classroom to classroom, they would clean the corridors too. For someone who seemed so rebellious, Sakura was surprised that Gaara just got on with his punishment. Yesterday, hell even today, he had seemed like someone who was always just… bitter and angry. It was also strange to see him cleaning up. For some reason, she just couldn't see him as someone to do such a thing.

"It is still considered rude to stare."

Sakura blinked as she looked down at the rubbish bag in her hands before looking back at Gaara, who was now looking at her blankly. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Sakura gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry." Then, Sakura bit her lower lip as she looked from Gaara to the rubbish bag and back again. "I'm sorry about what Ino said, too. You know, about when she called you a 'nobody'."

He rolled his eyes, but didn't reply as he got back to work.

"You shouldn't listen to her." Sakura continued as she emptied the classroom bin into the rubbish bag. "When she saw you talking to me, she probably thought that it would anger or upset me if she belittled you."

Gaara made no move to face her as he started placing chairs on top of tables. "_You_ were the one talking to_ me_." He pointed out.

"Still," Sakura frowned as she got to helping him with the chairs, "it wasn't right of her to bring you into our argument or try to use you against me. I'm sorry that she did that."

"Hn," Gaara grunted as he lifted the last chair and placed it onto the table.

Sakura smiled sadly at his reply. Gaara had no idea that in some ways, he and Uchiha Sasuke were very much alike. The thought caused Sakura to pause briefly as she and Gaara moved onto the next classroom. She knew that it wasn't right of her to compare the two. For all she knew, they could absolutely hate each other. It wouldn't surprise Sakura in the least since Sasuke was just about as social and kind as Gaara. Again, Sakura inwardly scolded herself. Who was she to decide who was kind or not? For all she knew, Gaara could be a really decent guy.

The thought of Gaara being a kind person was immediately ripped from her mind after he had pretty much completely ignored her for the rest of their detention. Whilst they had worked, Sakura had tried to talk to him, but he snubbed her each and every single time. Also, whenever she would smile at him, Gaara would either glare at her or roll his eyes. It made Sakura shake her head with disbelief and she had to stop herself from slamming the palm of her hand into her face.

When they were cleaning the bathrooms, Sakura grimaced as she scrunched her nose up slightly. As if amused by her reaction to the boys' bathroom, Gaara snorted before walking forward. However, he also couldn't help but pull a face at the smell. It reeked. Sakura had practically gagged from the smell, but Gaara hid his reaction well.

Sakura was quick to get to work as she began mopping the floor, hoping that the smell of disinfectant and bleach would either wash away or cover the smell of urine. In some ways, after about five minutes or so, it worked. Well, it definitely covered the smell, but neither Sakura nor Gaara were going to kid themselves by thinking it would be washed away.

"You know," Sakura spoke conversationally as she placed a hand on her hip whilst the other held onto the top of the mop's handle, "you guys' should really try to aim better. I think half of the stuff on the floor is piss!"

As he leaned out of one of the cubicles where he had been trying to wash graffiti off of the wall, Gaara gave her a blank look. "I don't use the school bathrooms."

"Oh?" Sakura raised a brow as she dragged her bucket over to where Gaara was. "And why is that?"

"For the very same reason you are complaining."

Sakura lifted her head and mouthed an 'oh'. "I guess that makes sense." She shrugged, getting back to work. "I hate using public bathrooms too."

"Hn," was all she got in reply.

This time, however, Sakura couldn't stop herself from growling with annoyance. "You were complaining yesterday that I never noticed you before, but now that I'm trying to talk to you, you more or less ignore me!"

Gaara rolled his eyes as he started to scrub the wall once again.

"You're doing it again!"

He took a deep breath to keep himself calm as he sensed Sakura stop with mopping the floor.

"Why won't you reply to me?" Sakura snapped, her eyes narrowing. "Did I ever do anything to offend you? Have I said something wrong in the past?"

God he hated whiny bitches like her.

His entire body tensed as he felt Sakura lift her hand and go to place it on his shoulder to turn him around. However, before she could, he spun around and glared at her. In response to his glare, Sakura's eyes widened as she took a step back.

Never before had she ever seen someone look at her with so much anger and hatred. Actually, no, scratch that. She _had_ seen that look before and nothing good ever came out of it. Whenever she had received that look, only bad things happened afterwards.

Gaara ignored her more than obvious fear as he advanced on her. Each step he took, Sakura took a step back until she was pressed against the wall and visibly trembling. His eyes narrowed as he finally closed the distance between them, seeming to completely tower over the girl as he glared down at her. If he noticed Sakura trying everything she possibly could to blend into the wall, he didn't react to it. If anything, it made him angrier. Who did this girl think she was?

"Let's get one thing straight," He spat through clenched teeth, "I am_ not_ one of your pathetic, whiny friends. I don't follow you around like they _used_ to. In fact, I never have and never will follow you at all. I despise girls like _you_. Girls who think they own the place, girls who think that everybody loves them and worships them." Gaara leaned down further so that they were eye to eye. "And if you ever try to touch me again, I will not hesitate in breaking your _fucking_ hand."

Sakura took a deep, shaky breath as she kept her eyes locked with Gaara's. Neither of them moved as they simply stared at each other. One with nothing more than anger and hatred in his eyes whilst the other held fear that was slowly dissipating into her own anger.

"I already told you," Sakura spoke as calmly as possible as she straightened up, "I'm not the same girl I used to be." Her eyes narrowed as she forced back her tears. "Yes, I used to be all of those things you just mentioned, but today and even yesterday, I've tried to be nice to you. I've tried to be nice to everyone and what do I get?" She barked out a humourless laugh as her eyes darted to the side and then back to Gaara's. "The first moment I'm on my own, I'm more or less cornered. Whilst Ino screamed at me in front of everyone, whilst she physically attacked me, not one of my old friends tried to help me." Her voice became nothing more than a whisper as Sakura leaned back into the wall and stared at him. "Not even Sasuke or Naruto helped me."

If Gaara was surprised by the amount of betrayal in her eyes, he didn't show it. He simply snorted, "From what I heard, you were the one who attacked Yamanaka."

She frowned. "I may have hit her first, but–"

"But nothing," Gaara snapped. "The things that happen when you're angry are things you've always wanted to say, wanted to do. Some part of you, no matter how much you want to deny it, has always wanted to hit that bitch. You've always wanted to hurt her."

The sad thing was that Sakura couldn't even deny it.

There had been many, _many_ times where she wished she could just hit her. Where she wished she could rub it in Ino's face that _she_ was with Sasuke, not her. There were so many times, more than Sakura could even count, that she had wanted to do anything just to get Ino to shut the fuck up.

But things have changed now.

So why couldn't she deny it?

Gaara once again snorted as he took a step back. "That's what I thought."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, but didn't make any move to reply as she picked up her mop and continued her cleaning. As she did, Gaara also turned back to cleaning the cubicle, but the sound of her quiet voice made him pause.

"You wouldn't hurt me."

Turning to face her once again, Gaara was surprised to find her staring at him with soft, hesitant eyes. "Don't tell me what I can and cannot do."

She shook her head softly. "That's not what I meant. I mean," Sakura took a deep breath as she looked at the ground and then back to him, "you won't hurt me. I can see it in your eyes." He must have looked shocked because Sakura gave him a small smile. "_Please_, I can tell the difference between a threat and a promise." She frowned for a second, but then her features straightened out. "If you really wanted to hurt me, you would have. It's not like I didn't know any better not to touch you, because Kakashi warned me yesterday, remember? This is the second time I went to touch you. I noticed the way you tensed up, but I still moved forward."

"That's because you're an idiot."

It surprised him even further when she chuckled. "That may be so, but I'm still right, aren't I?"

When Gaara didn't reply and simply turned around, Sakura smiled.

That was all the answer she needed.

* * *

**A/N - I don't usually update so many times in one week, I prefer updating once a week, but I just really wanted to keep posting.  
**

**It seems like on my last two chapters the italics I used only showed up on certain parts, which kind of annoyed me. I mean, it gets a little annoying when you have to read the same chapter about five or six times to make sure it's exactly how you want it to be, only to find out that it isn't _after_ you've posted it.**

**Anyways, for those who want to know, I usually update once every week, on a Wednesday.**

**Have any of you been watching the Kakashi ANBU arc? I know it's only just started but oh my God. I love Kakashi.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to review! :-)**


	4. What's The Worst That Could Happen?

**Chapter 4 – What's The Worst That Could Happen?**

When Sakura had decided on apologising to her old friends, she never realised that it would be much easier said than done.

It had been almost two weeks now since her return and whilst it wasn't that long, it felt like it had been months. She had waited a couple of days before attempting to fix the damage she had caused – but they all avoided her like she had the plague. There were many times when Naruto looked as though he wanted to talk to her, but right at the last minute, he would turn away. Every time that happened, it felt like it was killing Sakura inside. If Naruto, the kindest and most open minded person there was, refused to speak to her or hear her out, what chance did she have with Sasuke or Ino?

So in other words, school was tough. If it hadn't been for Kakashi who stayed by her side and didn't even seem to mind her company, Sakura was certain she would have given up by now. People still gave her funny looks when they saw her with him – no doubt it was because of him being an assistant for those with problems – but she had learned to somewhat ignore them. She still held her head high as she walked through the hallways. She still – in Ino's words – walked around as though she owned the place.

Why give them any more reasons to talk? That was what Sakura asked herself every day as she got up and acted as though everything was okay. There was a small part of her that was repeating that maybe, if she said it so many times, then it really will be okay.

* * *

Oh how she was really starting to hate English.

Sasuke still tensed whenever he heard her voice, he still ignored her and refused to even look at her. Seeing her reaction to_ his_ reaction, Kakashi had frowned and asked if she would be okay. It was like Sakura's body would deflate every time Sasuke ignored her and Kakashi could literally see the pain and hurt flash across her features as they scrunched up ever so slightly, like she was trying her hardest not to cry. At first, he hadn't been so sure, but now, Kakashi knew that something had gone on between the two of them, something serious and something that needed to be sorted. The only problem was, Sasuke refused to acknowledge Sakura.

And every day that passed, he could see the already very little amount of hope slowly diminish in Sakura's eyes.

The only good thing about her English class, to Sakura, was that she was starting to make a new friend. Sure, the girl was still quite shy around her, but Sakura didn't mind. She had realised that Hyuuga Hinata was actually a really nice person. Also, the girl helped Sakura stay calm. It wasn't with her words or her actions, it was just her aura. She was always so calm and at peace, even when she was nervous and stuttering.

"I heard that you're Gaara's partner." Kakashi said to Sakura.

Her head snapped up to look at Kakashi and due to her surprise she had missed how Sasuke's entire body twitched as though he wanted to turn around. However, it was not something that Kakashi had failed to notice. Sakura's brows furrowed as she looked up at him. "You've only just been told? I thought you were supposed to know everything about me."

Kakashi let out a low chuckle. "I only know what I'm told or what I read in your files." There was a short pause as he watched her carefully. "So how's it going?"

Sakura sighed as she leaned back in her seat, her eyes seeming much more tired. "He barely even speaks to me." A smile graced her lips however as she turned back to Kakashi. "But on the first day, I think I proved something to him!"

"And what would that be?"

"When I went to touch him – Kakashi don't give me that look!" Sakura huffed with annoyance at the shocked and angered look Kakashi was giving her, before he could scold her however, she continued. "It looked like he was going to hit me – hell I thought he _was_ going to hit me. But he didn't. He could have done anything to me because of the position he had me in, but instead, once he had yelled at me, he backed off. He didn't even lay a hand on me or ruffle a single hair. He didn't touch me at all."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "What you did was reckless, Sakura. I told you that he doesn't like being touched." Then, something made his eyes narrow even further. "What do you mean by the position he had you in?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I don't mean anything sexual, Kakashi!" She hissed and almost giggled at the shocked intake of breath from Hinata as she heard Sakura. "I was stupid enough to back up against a wall and was completely vulnerable. I should have known better than to back down like I did, but I was scared. But still, even though it was obvious he was pissed, he didn't raise a hand to hit me."

"It was still reckless, Sakura."

"Whatever." Sakura mumbled as she once again rolled her eyes, all traces of humour and happiness gone. "It's the last detention tonight anyway and after tonight, I doubt I'll ever speak to him again."

The older man frowned. "You don't seem too thrilled."

"I'm not." She shrugged, answering honestly as she rested her head in her raised hands. "He's the only one who doesn't speak to me like I'm glass, like I'm going to break. You have to look deep, but Gaara's an all right person, you know? I just think that, like me, he's seen some pretty messed up stuff." Sakura bit her lip as she looked up at Kakashi. "He's completely alone, isn't he?"

Kakashi raised a brow. "What makes you think that?"

Once again, Sakura shrugged. "It's in his eyes."

"I can't talk about other students, especially in a classroom where there are many people listening." As he said this, Kakashi's eyes slid over to Sasuke's tensed back and then over to Hinata's form, making Sakura remember where they were. "But I will tell you that even though you're–" He paused at her sharp look and sighed, skipping over what he was about to say. "Just know that you're lucky to have your parents by your side. Even though you don't speak to any of your old friends, at least you have parents who care for you and will stand by your side."

She nodded sadly. "They really do stick with you through anything, don't they? No matter how bad it gets, they're always there. I just wish… I just wish that others could be as understanding as them."

* * *

It had been two weeks since her fight with her ex–best friend, Yamanaka Ino. Despite being humiliated in front of the school, it was still pretty painful to think of Ino that way, as her _ex_–best friend. Since then, the bruising on Ino's face had gone down and it was pale enough now that it could easily be covered by makeup. Sakura wasn't really punched all that hard, so there wasn't a bruise.

Since it had been two weeks since their fight, Kakashi had suggested that they once again try to eat in the cafeteria. Sakura just suspected that he wanted to get rid of her sooner. Kakashi was too much of a gentleman to say it out loud, but she could see that he was a private man who appreciated having time alone to himself. Not only that, but she took up almost his entire day and there were other students in the school who had problems. Sure, there were other support teachers, but none as good as Hatake Kakashi.

Just like the first time entering the cafeteria, there was a lot of staring from the other students and as she and Kakashi made their way over to the queue, they passed Ino's table. If looks could kill, Sakura was certain she would be dead a hundred times over, if not more. You would think that after two weeks everything would have calmed down. But no, because it was the 'legendary' Haruno Sakura, nothing had changed.

Trying to keep up her act of being uncaring and confident was difficult, but she did it. Even when Kakashi used his 'I'm a teacher' excuse and jumped to the front of the queue – which, coincidently, put them right in front of Naruto and Sasuke – Sakura kept her back straight and eyes forward. She could feel their eyes on her, but Sakura refused to move her eyes even the smallest amount to the side to acknowledge them.

After a couple of minutes and no movement, however, Sakura looked up at Kakashi and narrowed her eyes, "Kakashi."

He turned his head to the side. "Is something wrong, Sakura?"

"What's taking so long? We're at the front!"

Kakashi smiled sheepishly. "Well you see there are another two teachers before me and since I'm only a support–"

"Forget I asked." Sakura rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest.

Going back to ignoring everyone, Sakura drummed her fingers against her upper arm, trying to keep herself from looking at the two boys beside her. They were still looking at her, she could feel their eyes on her, and it took everything in her to not look back. There was so much she wanted to say, but she couldn't say any of it in a lunch line. It wasn't the right time or setting. Naruto would be hungry and Sasuke would prefer to talk in privacy. Hell, given the situation, even Naruto would prefer to talk in private.

"Anything you want?" Kakashi asked as he turned to look at Sakura.

"I'm not that–" At his raised eyebrow, Sakura sighed. "I'll have a sandwich, but I can pay for it myself."

He shrugged. "That's fine by me."

Once they had collected their lunch, the two made their way over to a table. Sakura didn't know how Kakashi did it! He didn't even seem bothered by the fact a lot of people were staring at them. If anything, he looked bored. Was it an act? If it was, Kakashi was a good actor. Perhaps she should ask him for lessons?

"You know," Sakura said thoughtfully as she picked at her sandwich, "I think I've spent more time with you in the past two weeks than I have with anyone else."

Kakashi gave her a cheery smile. "Is that your way of saying you enjoy my company?"

She smirked. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Hatake."

"I know you like me really." Kakashi then turned serious as he pointed to her food. "Eat."

With a groan of annoyance, Sakura did as she was told. "You're as bad as my mother."

* * *

His expressionless eyes didn't leave her face for a second. It was like everywhere he went, she was there! Couldn't he catch a break? What had he done in his past life to deserve something like this? Out of all the people to annoy him, it just_ had_ to be Haruno Sakura. She just_ had_ to return to Konoha High and make his life just that much harder, didn't she?

It was obvious she could feel his and Naruto's eyes on her, because she was holding herself a little too well. Whilst Sakura had always been the kind of girl who stood tall and had good posture, she preferred to slouch since it was more comfortable. Sasuke was certain she had picked that up from the idiot beside him, but he didn't ever bring that accusation up. To do so would start an argument between him and his best friend and even though it had been over eight months now, things were still a little tense and uncomfortable between them at times.

Naruto had never fully forgiven Sasuke for what he did and honestly, Sasuke couldn't even blame the blond. What he had done was a really shitty thing for a best friend to do, but what could he say? That he was sorry? That he regretted it? Because he wasn't and didn't. It was strange. Whilst being with Sakura had caused him pain and confusion and anger, he didn't regret it for a single second because it also brought him relief, pleasure and maybe even happiness. If he regretted anything, it would be how he handled the situation with Naruto. Why couldn't he have remained calm? He bet his older brother, Itachi, would have been able to. Bastard.

Suddenly, Sakura's head snapped up as she glared at the silver haired support teacher beside her, "Kakashi."

Why did her voice make him tense whenever he heard it? Why did it feel like he was being punched in the stomach?

"Is something wrong, Sakura?"

"What's taking so long? We're at the front!"

Ah, so he and Naruto were making her uncomfortable? It hadn't been _that_ obvious until she mentioned it.

Kakashi smiled sheepishly. "Well you see there are another two teachers before me and since I'm only a support–"

"Forget I asked." Sakura rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest.

He hated it when she stood like that, mostly because of the way her breasts would push together. The only reason he could tell was because he was much taller than her and she always had the top two or three buttons of her blouse undone, revealing her cleavage. Before, Sasuke had disliked her doing that because they had been somewhat together and she was his. He didn't like it when other guys ogled what was his. But now, he disliked it because she wasn't his anymore and he didn't like being reminded of that fact. Sasuke didn't like being reminded of the fact that she had just left him, without warning and without an explanation.

"Anything you want?" Kakashi asked as he turned to look at Sakura.

"I'm not that–" At his raised eyebrow, Sakura sighed. "I'll have a sandwich, but I can pay for it myself."

He shrugged. "That's fine by me."

On the outside, Sasuke remained expressionless as he watched Sakura pick up her lunch before paying and walking away, but on the inside, he was frowning. By the look on Kakashi's face, Sasuke was guessing that Sakura didn't eat, but it didn't seem right to him. She looked the same size she had been before she left! Was that why she had left? Did she have an eating disorder? Sasuke shook his head as he grabbed his lunch, paid for it and walked away. He couldn't imagine Sakura not eating, back before she left, she had eaten anything you put in front of her!

"Oi, Sasuke?"

At the sound of his name, Sasuke looked across the table at Naruto, who was currently frowning at him. "What?"

"Do you think something's wrong with Sakura?"

That was also something that changed. Naruto no longer called Sakura 'Sakura–chan'. It didn't seem like much, but for those who were closest to them, it meant a lot. "It's not our concern."

"Look at her!" Naruto hissed, suddenly seeming angry. "How can you say she isn't our concern?"

With a sigh, Sasuke looked over at Sakura's table where she sat with Kakashi. She was picking at her sandwich, looking utterly miserable. It was strange seeing her that way, he was used to seeing her with a bright smile on her face. Then, Sakura smirked as she said something to Kakashi, who was smiling cheerfully at her. "Look," Sasuke grunted as he looked back at his food, "not our concern."

What he had missed when he turned away was Kakashi forcing Sakura to eat, which wasn't something Naruto missed as he then looked back at Sasuke and frowned. "I thought you would have cared more about her considering everything that happened between you both."

Why was this idiot his best friend? Sasuke didn't even know anymore. Hell, he couldn't even remember how they became friends again. "I could say the same to you."

That silenced him.

* * *

The rest of the day was kind of a blur to Sakura. One moment she's sat in maths and then the next, school is over and she's walking with Gaara to detention. Since they were in the same class last period, they went to detention together. He hadn't really wanted to, but she talked him round. Well, she walked faster so that they were walking together and he had to accept the fact she just wasn't going away.

When they arrived, Ino and Sai were already headed off to the stairs leading to level one. After the second or third day, the janitor had told them not to bother waiting for him and that they should just get changed and get started.

"What are you doing?"

Sakura looked up from putting her feet through the legs of her overalls and raised an eyebrow at Gaara, who was looking at her like she had grown a second head. "I'm putting the overalls on to protect my clothing…" Sakura replied slowly.

Gaara narrowed his eyes, not liking that she was talking to him like he was an idiot, "In front of me."

Realising why he was so bothered, Sakura rolled her eyes and pulled the overalls up her legs before tucking her skirt in and lifting it over her hips. "Relax." She told him. "I'm wearing shorts under my skirt."

"Do you change in front of just anyone?"

At his condescending tone, Sakura's head snapped up from fastening the buttons to glare at him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She demanded.

"I was led to believe that girls appreciated privacy, at least those with dignity." Gaara smirked as he folded his arms over his chest.

"You're an ass." Sakura muttered as she went to walk past him to grab the cleaning supplies. However, at his next four words, Sakura paused in front of him.

"And you're a slut."

Before Gaara could even react, Sakura's fist connected with his face, causing a sickening crack to sound and him to stumble backwards until he was against the wall. "_Who do you think you are_?" She screamed at him, trying to ignore the throbbing coming from her fist. Tears came to her eyes, but like the pain in her hand, she tried to ignore them. "You don't even know me!" She continued. "All you know about me is my name and rumours that have been spread."

Gaara raised a hand to his cheek but dropped it back to his side when the pain flared. His fists clenched tightly as he stood straighter, a murderous glare focusing on Sakura's trembling form. The girl looked like she was about to break down into tears, but at the same time, she looked like she wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp!

"I'm different now." Her voice dropped to a whisper, one that sounded strained. "I'm better."

As soon as the last two words left her lips, tears started to fall silently down her cheeks, completely surprising Gaara. What the hell was happening? One moment she was happy, the next she was angry and now, she's crying? "Why are you crying?" The question sounded more like a demand.

"I'm trying," She hiccupped, "to be different. I want to be better!"

He really had no idea what was happening and what made it worse was that she suddenly grabbed a hold of him and _wouldn't let go_. His immediate reaction was to hit her until she let go, but he couldn't. To hit a woman, especially a woman who couldn't defend themselves and was vulnerable, was just wrong and dishonourable. It was also pathetic and made you look like nothing more than a weakling. His second reaction was for his entire body to tense. He didn't like being touched and because of that, among other reasons, nobody touched him. So having a girl gripping him tightly as she cried was definitely not something Gaara wanted. It was practically an assault!

"Let me go." He growled.

His words and tone seemed to have no affect however, as Sakura did the exact opposite and tightened her grip. "I," She paused as a sob shook her body, "I'm sorry… for hitting you. I didn't… you just… I was angry."

Gaara's eyes narrowed. He didn't care for her apology. "Let me go."

Still, Sakura refused to release him. "Please don't be mad at me." She whispered. "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry!"

Where the hell was this coming from? Why was she acting so afraid? Why was she holding him so tightly? Why was she looking for comfort from him? Why wouldn't she just let him go? Trying to seem as calm as possible, Gaara took a deep breath before speaking. "I'm not mad."

Sakura lifted her head to look at him and Gaara had to hold back the sneer at how pathetic and hopeful she looked. He preferred it when she was angry with him. "You're not?"

Slowly his fists unclenched as he moved them to her arms, unlocking them from around his waist and holding her at arms–length. "No."

His words seemed to help Sakura calm down as she also took a deep breath. "I'm still sorry." Her voice was stronger now, even though she was avoiding looking him in the eyes.

"Whatever."

With that, the two got to work.

* * *

For what felt like the hundredth time in the past ten minutes, Sakura hissed with pain before dropping the mop and clutching her hand to her chest. "It's broken." She whined. "Look at it! It's already swelling." When she received no reply, Sakura looked up at her partner. "Gaara, this is _your_ fault. _Help me_!"

"How is it my fault?" He asked in a bored tone. Stepping out of the cubicle, Gaara gave her a look to match his tone. "You were the one who punched me."

"That was because you were being an ass!" She snapped before taking a deep breath. "Will you just look at it for me?"

Shaking his head, Gaara moved back to the cubicle. "No."

"Why are you such a jerk?" Sakura once again hissed with pain as her hand unconsciously tried to form into a fist. "Damn it!"

There was a sigh of annoyance before suddenly, somebody was beside her. You could tell just by how tense his body was that Gaara didn't want to help her. Not only that, but it was obvious that he didn't want to touch her either. If she hadn't known that he felt that way about everyone, she would have taken offence. Thankfully, not only Kakashi, but also Gaara himself had filled her in.

His hands were cool against her skin as he took her wrist and pulled her arm away from her chest. Each movement was slow and surprisingly careful, as though he was trying not to cause her anymore pain. Knowing Gaara – sort of – Sakura knew that it was only so she didn't start whining again.

"It looks like you've broken two fingers and three knuckles." He muttered as he inspected each finger and knuckle. "And you have sprained your wrist." He looked down at her with annoyance, his hands still holding hers. "Don't you know how to throw a punch?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Of course I do! It's just when I get angry…"

"You act without thinking." Gaara finished for her when she trailed off.

She smiled sheepishly, "Yeah."

Neither of them had pulled away yet, Sakura because she didn't want to move her hand and bring back the pain that his cool fingers was numbing slightly and Gaara because… actually, he wasn't sure why he hadn't moved yet. What he did know was that she had finally shut up complaining and he would do anything, _anything_, to keep her quiet.

"Do you have a car?" Sakura asked, looking up at him.

Gaara's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

Once again, Sakura rolled her eyes. "I don't have one anymore, so I need a lift to the hospital." At the face he was pulling, Sakura sighed. "I know, I know, gas costs a fortune. How about you drive me there, take me home and when we get there, I'll give you the money to refill your car?"

"Why would you give me money?" Gaara asked suspiciously. "You said that I'm the one who broke your hand."

Sakura shrugged and a small smile graced her lips. "Just accept my offer, Gaara. It's not like I have anything else to spend my money on." A humourless chuckle escaped her lips as she looked down at their hands, but when she spoke, her voice was quiet. "I have no friends now, remember?"

"Whatever." Gaara told her before letting go of her hand.

Even though they hadn't finished their level of the school, the two put away their cleaning supplies, removed their overalls – Gaara had reluctantly given Sakura a hand with removing hers, much to his chagrin. He was grateful that she wore her uniform underneath her overalls and shorts underneath her skirt. If she didn't, it would have been a hell of a lot more awkward.

Ino and Sai had passed the pair as Gaara was helping Sakura out of her overalls and when she had seen them, Ino had laughed. She then went on to ask Sakura if she had gotten so desperate that she would have sex in a janitor's closet with Gaara, to which Sakura replied that at least it wasn't a public bathroom with Kiba, making Ino scream with annoyance, humiliation and anger before stomping away.

"Did she really have sex in a bathroom?" Sai asked, watching Ino quickly disappear around the corner before he turned to look at Sakura and Gaara.

Sakura shrugged. "Yes, she did and the only reason I said it is because I'm sick of her treating me like crap. Not only that, but she keeps bringing Gaara into our fights. It's not fair to him."

"I don't need you to defend me." Gaara growled.

"Well that's too bad."

Sai looked between the pair before finally asking, "So why is Gaara undressing you in a janitor's closet?"

"She broke her hand." Gaara told him quickly.

"Punching his face," Sakura added cheerfully.

The pale boy looked between them with an empty expression, but they could tell that he was more or less shocked. "You punched him?" Sai asked in bewilderment as he took a step closer and examined Gaara's left cheek. Sure enough, there was a little swelling. "Why?"

For what felt like the millionth time that day, Sakura shrugged. "He said something I didn't like."

"And you punched him for it?"

"And yelled at him," Her cheery tone was back before she hissed. "Careful!" She snapped at Gaara, who had just jostled her hand when pulling the sleeve over it. Sakura was certain that he did it on purpose.

Gaara let go of the overalls and if the closet hadn't been so small, he would have taken a step back. "Fine, you can do it yourself." As Sakura looked at him with wide eyes and was just about to complain, he stepped forward with a growl of annoyance. "Shut up then."

It didn't take all that long for them to change, return their cleaning equipment and grab their things from their lockers before finally leaving the school. Sakura would say that it had taken them no more than ten, maybe fifteen minutes. She had decided to call her mother when she was in the car, since she only had one hand to use and at that moment in time, she was carrying her jacket since it was too big to fit in her bag. Thankfully, her bag was a leather backpack, so she simply slipped that onto her shoulders. If she hadn't been so grateful for the lift, Sakura would have snapped at Gaara for not being a gentleman and offering to carry her things. However, given the fact that this was Gaara she was with, she kept her mouth shut.

The phone only rang twice before her mother answered. "_I didn't expect for you to ring so soon! Is your detention over already, Sakura_?"

Did her mother have to make her sound like she was some sort of out of control delinquent? "No." Sakura said slowly before clearing her throat. "I'm… going out with a friend."

Gaara shot her a dark look, but Sakura ignored him as she listened to Mebuki. "_What friend? I know it isn't Sasuke, he passed me whilst I was on my way home. Is it Naruto_?"

"No, it's not Naruto." She told her mother, trying to speak passed the lump in her throat. "He's still avoiding me, can't blame him really." Just as Mebuki was about to speak up, Sakura interrupted her, "I'm with a new friend and his name is Gaara. We're going out for a bite to eat, so I just called to tell you that I won't need a lift."

She could almost _hear_ her mother's glare. "_You are not going out, not without my permission! Come home, Sakura_."

Because of how loud she was being, Gaara overheard and raised a brow at her, but Sakura simply shook her head. "See you later!"

With that, she hung up, switched her phone off and groaned as her head fell back against the headrest.

"I know she means well." Sakura said suddenly, almost speaking to herself. "But sometimes… I just wish she wouldn't try to control everything I do. And I know I'm lucky to still have her, especially after all the crap I've put her through, but I just want her to trust me more, you know?"

Gaara didn't reply, because honestly, he didn't know.

* * *

**A/N - Okay, let me just say this: I hate, hate, _hate,_ Karin and Matsuri. I really cannot stand them and not only because Matsuri likes Gaara or Karin likes Sasuke, they just really piss me off. Sorry if I've offended anyone by that, but in my honest opinion, Karin is pathetic and acts like she's having an orgasm when Sasuke bites her and Matsuri is more useless than Sakura _used to be_.  
**

**That's another thing I hate! When people say that Sakura is useless and she only defeated Sasori because Chiyo was there. Well, if Sakura wasn't there, Chiyo would have been defeated quickly. They worked as a team.**

**Anyways, I'm going to go and read the latest Naruto chapter!**

**Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review! :-)**


	5. Misunderstanding

**Chapter 5 – Misunderstanding**

There were some things better left unsaid, but her family had never been good at not saying things. Well, her mother wasn't, her father wasn't really a man of many words. If he got involved, it meant it was about something serious, or he just wanted everyone else to shut up.

Sakura currently found herself sitting beside Gaara on the sofa in her living room with her mother pacing in front of them. Everybody was tense and stressed, Mebuki was red in the face due to her anger, Gaara's fists were clenched and pressing tightly into his thighs and Sakura repeatedly had to stop herself from screaming. What made it worse was that Mebuki hadn't even seen her cast yet since it was hidden underneath her jacket.

It didn't make much sense to try and hide something like a broken hand from her mother, especially since her doctor would be ringing Mebuki shortly. She had asked Shizune to wait until she managed to speak to Mebuki first. The older woman had reluctantly agreed after making Sakura promise to tell her mother.

Gaara hadn't come into the hospital with her. Well, he came in, but he didn't come with her to be examined and part of her was grateful for that. Shizune knew a lot about her, not everything, but enough to make anybody run a mile. After all, who would want a girl who has so many problems? No, he simply stayed in the waiting room and after a two hour wait, and that was _before_ she had been seen to, they came to her house, where they were currently under interrogation.

The person Sakura felt sorry for the most was Gaara. The poor guy had only come into her home for the money to refill his car when Mebuki – for lack of better word – pounced.

"What's going on?"

Sakura turned to look over her shoulder and almost groaned at the sight of her father. She hadn't even realised it had gotten so late! On normal work days, Kazashi was always home by eight. "Mom," Sakura said slowly, "I'm sure Gaara has places he needs to be."

"We need to talk about this Sakura." Mebuki snapped as she placed her fisted hands onto her hips. Gaara immediately recognised the pose as one similar to Sakura's. It was something she did when she was angry. "What have you been doing for the past four hours? You left detention early! I had Sarutobi–sama on the phone, asking where you had disappeared to. Do you know how worried I was? You simply rang me, telling me you were going out for something to eat with this… this _boy_!"

The pink haired girl immediately shot up out of her seat, her eyes glaring at her mother. "Don't speak about my friend like that!" She yelled angrily as she slammed her jacket to the floor. "Do you want to know why I left detention early?" Sakura raised her cast and waved it in the air. "I left because I broke my hand!"

Mebuki's eyes widened dramatically as she shot forward, taking a closer look at the red cast covering her daughter's hand. "Oh Sakura," The older woman gasped. "What happened?"

"I slipped." She lied, earning a raised brow from Gaara. "We were mopping the bathroom and I wasn't being careful."

"And this boy helped you?"

At the sight of Gaara immediately tensing, Sakura smirked. "Yeah, that's why I brought Gaara back here, to give him the money for the gas. You're always complaining about how expensive it's gotten, so I felt bad for making him waste it by taking me to the hospital and bringing me home. I'm sorry for lying to you about going out for something to eat, but I didn't want to worry you. You've been so busy with the company lately and I didn't want you to get any more stressed."

Gaara couldn't believe that Sakura could lie so easily! And it sounded so convincing too. If he hadn't known the true story, he might have even believed her! The concern for her mother was definitely real, you could tell by the look in her eyes as she said it, but the rest was all lies. Yes, he had come back here for the money and yes, he had helped her, but she hadn't slipped. No, she had broken her hand by punching _his_ face.

"Oh well if that's the case," Mebuki said a little unsurely before turning to Gaara and smiling, "would you like to join us for dinner, Gaara–kun?"

His eyes widened ever so slightly. Did she seriously just call him 'Gaara–_kun'_? Nobody had ever called him that before! And what was that about dinner? Just as he opened his mouth to say no, he caught Sakura's pleading features, obviously asking him to stay. Not only hers, but also her mother's. Hell, even her father had walked further into the room and was smiling at him. What the hell kind of family was this? Why did Sakura look so uncomfortable?

"I will need to call my sister." He said a little reluctantly.

Sakura's beaming smile took him by surprise. Had she really wanted him to stay that badly? Why would she want that? Before he could say anything, Sakura turned to her mother. "How long will dinner be?"

Looking down at her watch, Mebuki did a quick calculation. "I'd say about half an hour, possibly forty five minutes depending on the potatoes. Gaara–kun, are you allergic to anything?"

"Not that I am aware of."

She nodded before disappearing with Kazashi close behind her, leaving just him and Sakura in the living room. The latter sighed with relief as she fell back onto the same sofa as him, letting her head hit the cushions.

"Thank you for staying." Sakura said quietly, not looking him in the eyes. "As you just saw, my mom can be a little too much sometimes."

"So you decided to make me suffer with you?"

Sakura chuckled as she turned her head to look at him, "Absolutely." Then she stood up, gesturing with her head for him to follow. "My money is upstairs and you can use the house phone in my room." She bit her lip slightly as she took her first step on the stairs. "I'd let you use my mobile, but it's for emergencies only and I'm not really supposed to give that number out."

"Why?" He couldn't stop himself from asking as he followed her up the stairs.

Shrugging, Sakura continued her journey to the bedroom. "It'd suck if I have to change numbers all the time." Now that they were at the top of the stairs with Gaara by her side, she could see him looking at her in what she presumed as questioningly. "You've probably noticed that nobody particularly likes me." Again, Sakura shrugged as though she didn't care. "If they got hold of my number, no doubt my phone would blow up with hate messages and prank calls."

Gaara didn't know what to say to her, so he simply walked beside her silently.

"This is my room." Sakura said a little awkwardly as she pushed open the door before smiling. "Huh, looks like my mom's been in here again. She's the only one who ever cleans it." When she received no reply, Sakura walked over to her bed and picked up the phone sitting beside it on the table. "Here. You can ring your sister on this."

He nodded once, not feeling very comfortable to do much else. It was strange because he had never been invited over to somebody's house before, let alone a girl's. As though that wasn't weird enough, they were in her bedroom and she was currently sitting on her bed, her legs crossed and her back against the headboard. To stop herself from showing her shorts, she placed a cushion on top of her legs, covering the view. Gaara found himself feeling grateful for that. It was already awkward, why add more?

It took a couple of moments before somebody finally answered the phone.

"_What_?"

His upper lip curled at how his sister answered the phone. "It's me."

"_Gaara,_" She gasped, "_where are you_?"

"I'm at a…" His voice trailed off as he looked at Sakura. She was currently messing with a piece thread on her cushion. Gaara sighed before narrowing his eyes and speaking again. "I'm at a friend's house."

He was met by silence.

Then, Temari finally spoke, "_A friend, eh_?" She asked slyly. "_Has my baby brother finally got a girlfriend_?"

Before she could say anything more, Gaara hung up.

Sakura grinned as he handed her the phone. "So we're friends then?"

"…I suppose."

If it was possible, Sakura's smile grew until it looked as though it was about to split her face in half. He found himself inwardly frowning. Did having a friend really mean that much to Sakura? Was it only because she now had none? Correction, was it because she now only had _one_ friend?

"Awesome!" She then chuckled as she added, "And it only took you breaking my hand for us to become friends!"

Gaara rolled his eyes. "You broke your own damn hand."

It seemed as though his admittance to them being friends had made her playful as she stuck out her tongue, "Whatever you say, Gaara–_kun_." Before he could say anything, she started to laugh. "My mother has never called any of my friends 'kun' it's always 'san' or nothing at all! It's so weird hearing her say that."

"I've never been called that before." He admitted to her.

Sakura's eyes widened as her laughter died down, "Never?"

"Never. Or at least, not that I am aware of."

"Oh," She said a little awkwardly before smiling brightly, "well at least now you can say you have!"

"Hn," Gaara grunted as he then looked around Sakura's bedroom.

It was a pretty girly room, though there were many different pieces of furniture or items to keep it from looking too girly. For example, her collection of manga and anime was definitely not a very girly thing. What was she watching? Death Note? Dragonball Z? He hadn't watched that in years. Who would have guessed a girl like Sakura would watch something like that? As his eyes continued to look around the room, Gaara couldn't even deny that he was impressed with her large collection of music and movies, but then again, she was a rich kid. She got anything and everything she wanted.

Then, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. As he looked at it, his eyes narrowed in confusion. "Where is the tower for your computer?"

Sakura 'hummed' in question before following his gaze, her own eyes narrowing but for different reasons. "My mom doesn't want me to go on any social networking sites."

"Why?"

First, Sakura tells him that she's not supposed to give out her phone number and then the next she tells him that she's not allowed to go on any social networking sites? What was up with that? Her mother hadn't seemed that bad when they were downstairs, but perhaps he read her wrong?

"Same reason as the phone," Sakura shrugged, "people."

Made sense, Gaara decided. It was no secret that Sakura wasn't very popular anymore. Well, she was still popular, but the students at their school didn't respect her anymore. Instead, they all pretty much hated her. It confused the hell out of him. Sure, she had been pretty unbearable and stuck up before she disappeared, but what about now? It was obvious to anyone that Sakura had definitely changed. She was still unbearable, but it was with niceness now instead of her bitchiness. However, it didn't take a genius to know that if she reactivated any of her old accounts, she would have loads of hate mail. Some of it would be old, some could be new.

He didn't use any of those sites for that particular reason. They annoyed the hell out of him. Yes, a lot of things annoyed him and made him angry, but that was beside the point.

Again, something else caught his eyes. "You play the guitar?"

"I'm not great at it." Sakura told him honestly with a chuckle before she grew more sombre. "Sasuke's older brother gave me a few lessons as a kid and I've just been practicing since then."

Gaara was genuinely surprised. Like the anime and manga, he didn't peg Sakura as somebody who could play an instrument. Perhaps she was right? Maybe he shouldn't have judged her by what he had heard about her. It seemed like every time he was with Sakura, she managed to surprise him!

She smiled a little nervously, once again surprising him. "I can play you something… if you like?"

"Sure," He wasn't too bothered about her playing him some music. It would certainly pass time before they could eat. Now that he thought about it, Gaara found himself feeling rather hungry. He hadn't eaten since lunch – it was Sakura's fault really if you were putting blame onto someone. If she hadn't punched him, they wouldn't have had to go to hospital.

Sakura's smile grew as she leaned over the bed and reached for her guitar and Gaara looked at the far wall as her skirt revealed a little too much to him. As soon as she grabbed her guitar, Sakura rolled her eyes at Gaara and fixed her skirt. Honestly, she couldn't see what the big deal was! She was wearing shorts under her skirt.

Her eyes moved down to the guitar, making sure she didn't make any mistakes. It would be especially hard with her cast on, but thankfully, it wouldn't be too bad and thanks to the painkillers, it didn't hurt as much either. Still, she made sure she made no mistakes. Playing to herself was easy, but playing to someone else, especially Gaara? It was pretty big. Gaara wasn't a person to compliment you and he would rather laugh at you than say something nice. Biting her bottom lip and pushing away her negative thoughts, she started to play her guitar. She missed the look of surprise on his face as she also started to sing.

"_As reason clouds my eyes with splendour fading. Illusions of the sunlight. And a reflection of a lie, will keep me waiting. With love gone, for so long_." Her voice was soft and gentle as she watched her own fingers dance across the strings, the music accompanying her voice also slow and gentle, "_And this day's ending, is the proof of time killing all the faith I know. Knowing that faith is all I hold._"

The music stopped, but Gaara could tell that it wasn't over because her eyes were still watching her hands. After a small pause, her singing continued, without music. "_And I've lost_," Her voice sounded stronger now and as the guitar joined her voice, that too was stronger and louder, "_who I am, and I can't understand, why my heart is so broken, rejecting your love. Without, love gone wrong, lifeless words carry on. But I know all I know is that the end's beginning."_

Her brows knitted together slightly as she continued. "_Who I am from the start, take me home to my heart. Let me go and I will run. I will not be silent! All this time spent in vain, wasted years, wasted gain. All is lost; hope remains, and this war's not over. There's a light, there's the sun, taking all shattered ones to the place we belong, and his love will conquer all. His love will conquer all."_

Once again, Sakura's voice was softer and quieter, as was her music. "_Yesterday I died, tomorrow's bleeding. Fall into your sunlight…_"

As the music drifted off, Sakura gripped a tighter hold of the guitar and looked at Gaara with suddenly shy eyes, but he couldn't say a word. He was honestly surprised at how much meaning there was behind her song and how much emotion had been in her voice and eyes. Yes, she hadn't been looking at him, but that didn't mean he hadn't been looking at her. It was obvious this song meant a lot to Sakura and whilst she didn't have the strongest singing voice, it was still soft and relaxing.

Finally, Gaara spoke up. "Did you write that yourself?"

"Yeah," She nodded before clearing her throat and frowning, "but it's not finished yet."

"I see." Sakura bit her lip at his response, trying to stop herself from smashing her guitar over his head. Why was he keeping her in suspense? Then, he spoke again. "It has a meaning."

One hand letting go of her guitar, Sakura scratched the back of her head and smiled awkwardly. "Yeah," She repeated. "It's a personal song."

"You should finish it."

A bright smile lit up Sakura's face. That was as close to a compliment as you could get from Sabaku Gaara! However, instead of teasing him about it, Sakura simply placed her guitar down on the floor, leaning it up against the wall. "It's hard." She told him with a sheepish smile. "The last couple of lines came to me so easily, but the rest took time." When he didn't reply, Sakura changed the subject. "So I saw you checking out my anime collection." She teased lightly. "Do you like anime too?"

"It passes the time." Gaara told her as he once again looked up at her collection before looking back down at her. "I wouldn't have thought you would like it."

She shrugged. "At first, I didn't. I thought that people who liked it were weird, geeky people who live in their mom's basements. But then I actually started watching it and… well, I got hooked. As you can probably tell," She once again smiled sheepishly, "Dragonball Z is my favourite."

"I suppose everybody used to watch it at one point." Gaara shrugged.

"So who's your favourite character? Is it Vegeta?" When he raised a brow at her, Sakura smirked. "Well you _are_ the 'bad boy' sort. And you have a bad temper." Her smirk then turned into a smile. "I think Vegeta's my favourite character, anyways. He's so misunderstood! They all think he's evil because he wants to be, but really, that Frieza guy made him that way!"

Gaara had to stop himself from smirking at how seriously Sakura took the anime. She must have noticed his barely restrained smirk because Sakura suddenly rolled her eyes. "I know, I know! I take it way too seriously, but can you blame me? I have no friends. Well, besides you." At this, she suddenly smiled brightly before calming down. "Anyway, you didn't answer. Who's your favourite character?"

He rolled his eyes. "I haven't watched it in years, but," Gaara thought it over for a while before answering, "Vegeta or Piccolo."

"Are you saying Vegeta just because I did?" Sakura teased.

"No!" Gaara frowned before continuing. "He was always underestimated and they treated him like he was heartless, though near the end of Dragonball Z, Vegeta redeems himself by giving his life to protect his family and everyone on Earth. It's the same with Piccolo."

She was slightly stunned by how much Gaara had said before she grinned. "Now who's taking it seriously?"

Once again, Gaara rolled his eyes.

It was going to be a long night.

As Gaara's eyes continued their inspection of Sakura's bedroom, they widened as he felt himself choke on thin air. After a moment of Sakura staring at him in surprise, he finally managed to choke out, "A–are those the Icha Icha books?"

* * *

He was right, as usual.

It _was_ a long night.

After two hours of having to sit with Sakura and her parents, Gaara was finally driving home. Damn it! How the hell did he get himself into situations such as those? Honestly, Gaara wasn't sure who to feel sorry for, himself for having to sit through that awful meal, or for Sakura who had to put up with her parents every day.

Whilst they were eating, Mebuki had spoken with Sakura but for some reason, her questions had suddenly been shot towards him. At one point, Gaara had even felt like he was prey being hunted. It was not a feeling he enjoyed. The foolish woman had asked him how long he had been seeing her daughter for, to which Gaara hadn't been entirely sure how to answer. So, he answered honestly, that they had met outside of Sarutobi's office. Then, when Sakura had shot him a wide eyed look, Gaara knew he hadn't said the right thing because suddenly, the questions came much faster and in a much more excited tone. Mebuki had asked many different things, but Gaara didn't remember any of those other, unimportant questions as a certain one hit him.

When would he be taking Sakura on a date?

At that question, both Sakura and Gaara had started choking on their food, causing her parents to look at them strangely.

Had Gaara ever mentioned that he hated women? At first it had just been girls, but now, it was fully grown women too. It seemed even after graduating from high school, they still kept their idiotic, childish and gossiping personalities. Even when they became successful businesswomen who were supposed to be serious and whatnot, there was still that a part of them that was just as annoying as they had been during their teenage years.

After Sakura had explained to Mebuki that they were only friends, it had become quiet and even a little uncomfortable. Well, for Gaara and Sakura it had been uncomfortable.

When she had walked him to the car, her features had been slightly sad. It wasn't until he was about to get in that she finally spoke though, asking if they were still friends despite what her mother thought. Gaara had simply shrugged and asked her why her mother would be able to change his mind. If he was going to be friends with someone, he wasn't going to just abandon them because of their idiotic parents. Sakura hadn't been too pleased when he had called Mebuki idiotic, but she hadn't argued either. Instead, Sakura had simply smiled at him and told him to drive safely before handing over the money for gas.

With that, Gaara had left with only one thought on his mind:

At least he now knew why Sakura was so annoying; it was because she lived with Mebuki.

* * *

**A/N - Happy Valentine's Day!  
**

**Oh and for the person who asked, Kakashi is however old he is in the anime, so about thirty or thirty one.**

**Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review! :-)**


	6. I Don't Understand

**Chapter 6 – I Don't Understand**

Ino glared at Sai with annoyance, "You're such a twit."

"A twit is defined as a pregnant goldfish. I am neither pregnant nor a fish." He told her with a frown settling on his features, showing his confusion.

The blonde rolled her eyes and groaned. "I didn't–" Ino cut off from her sentence as she growled. "Just forget I said anything, okay?"

"If that is what you wish, Ino–san."

Sakura couldn't help but chuckle at the two, even when Ino shot her a dark look and stormed off. To this, Sakura simply laughed harder whilst Sai approached her, a polite smile gracing his lips. In a way, Sai kind of reminded Sakura of Sasuke, not in the way he acted, but his looks. Like Sasuke, Sai was… was pretty the wrong word to use to describe a guy? Perhaps so, but that was the only word right now that Sakura wanted to use for Sai.

"Hello Sakura–san," Sai greeted her before looking down at her hand and frowning. "What happened to your hand? Are you okay?"

"You can just call me 'Sakura', Sai." She smiled in return as they started to walk towards their first class. "And it turns out I broke my hand on Friday, remember in the closet? Other than that though, I'm fine, are you?"

Sai nodded. "Oh, I remember. And I am well, thank you for asking." He then looked thoughtful as he looked down at Sakura. "Sakura, is it normal for a girl to call you a pregnant goldfish?"

She couldn't help but laugh,_ loudly_. It was the kind of laugh that caused your entire body to tremble as tears formed in your eyes. Okay, so there weren't tears in her eyes, but she was shaking and had to refrain from clutching her sides. When Sai had asked her that question, his face had seemed so serious yet confused all at the same time. "No, Sai," Sakura spoke in between laughs, "she wasn't calling you a pregnant goldfish. Ino was calling you a name. I'd say she wasn't, but she most likely _was_ trying to insult you."

"Oh."

"Don't worry about it though." Sakura told him as she finally managed to calm herself. It seemed her hysterical laughter had caused quite a few heads to turn, much to her annoyance. "Ino insults everyone, it's who she is."

"Why does she try to insult people?"

Sighing, Sakura looked up at him and shrugged. "Beats me, it's just something she has always done."

"I read that in order to make friends, you have to be kind and friendly. How is it that Ino–san has friends if she insults them?"

He looked genuinely confused and seeing this made Sakura smile softly. It seemed as though Sai honestly didn't understand the whole friendship and popularity thing. Sakura could understand a little, since it still confused her. However, she had heard that Sai had no friends, so he most likely didn't understand at all. "Do you understand popularity?" When Sai nodded once, Sakura continued. "You see, when you're popular, everybody knows who you are and wants to be your friend so that _they_ can be popular. Some mistake those kinds of people as real friends."

"Are you saying that Ino–san doesn't have real friends?"

Sakura bit her lip for a second, trying to remember everyone who Ino was friends with. "Some of them are real friends." She started slowly. "I know this because they were once my friends, too. We've all known each other since we were just little kids."

"If they're real friends, why aren't they your friends now?"

The question made a lump rise in Sakura's throat. "Some people do things that can't be forgiven." She whispered before looking up at Sai and coming to an abrupt stop. "I'm sorry; I forgot I need to see somebody before class. Tell our teacher and Hatake Kakashi that I'm going to be a little late, okay?"

Sai frowned when he saw her tear filled eyes, but said nothing about it as he instead nodded, "Of course, Sakura."

"Thanks!" She yelled over her shoulder before all but running down the corridor towards the girls' bathroom.

Due to lessons starting, there wasn't anybody in the bathroom as Sakura burst in and immediately went to one of the cubicles. Her heart was beating hard and fast and she knew it would only be a matter of moments before her tears came. No, make that matter of a single second. Sakura quickly grabbed some tissue before dabbing under her eyes. If she was going to cry, she had to make sure nobody could tell, which meant her makeup had to stay more or less perfect. It wasn't the first time Sakura had to do something like that.

Closing the toilet seat, Sakura sat on top of it and looked down at her legs with blurred vision. Sai's question had affected her more than what she thought it would have, which only meant one thing. Sakura groaned at just the thought of what would be coming before dabbing under her eyes again, catching her tears.

No matter how hard she tried, nobody would speak to her (kindly) and the only other students who spoke to her without hatred was Sai and Gaara, though the latter was quite cold. Sakura would have counted Hinata, but the girl hardly ever spoke and when she did, she would be stuttering so badly that Sakura was certain Hinata didn't feel comfortable around her.

After Gaara had left on Friday, she had been in such a good mood despite her parents embarrassing her with their stupid questions. It was because he had admitted that they were friends. Even if he hadn't, Sakura would have still called him her friend, just to see the look of annoyance that he would give her. God it was funny winding that guy up! Sometimes he could be even moodier than her!

So why had her mood taken such a sudden turn? Well, eight months ago, Sakura would have asked the very same question. Now however, she knew exactly why that was.

The sound of the door to the girl's bathroom opening made Sakura hold her breath and keep completely still. What made crying in the bathroom at school even worse was being caught by somebody who could quite possibly have something against you. By the sounds of the footsteps, Sakura guessed that there were at least two people. Neither of them had gone into the cubicles, so Sakura couldn't just sneak out. Even if she could she wouldn't. She had to check her makeup and redo her mascara first. Otherwise it would still be wet and could quite possibly stain under her eyes whenever she blinked. That would just be humiliating!

"_I'm going to kill that blonde whore!" _A familiar, shrill voice snapped angrily. If Sakura had to guess, she would say that it was Karin. "_Who the hell does she think she is? Sasuke is mine!"_

Sakura's entire body tensed. Sasuke was with Karin now? No… he couldn't be! Sasuke had always ignored Karin, not even wasting his time, effort and breath to call her names. Instead, he would simply look or walk away.

"_I'm surprised Sakura hasn't beaten her up yet."_ Another voice spoke rather smugly. This person's voice was just as familiar as Karin's, since the two had bullied Sakura back during their first year at Konoha High and for quite some time before that. It was Ami. "_Well, again. I mean, did you see what she did to that bitch? Ino's face was a mess, no matter how much makeup she used to try to cover the bruises up with."_

There was a sound of annoyance before Karin spoke again. "_Don't even mention that name."_ She all but groaned before she was once again sounding snappy and annoyed. "_That slut is even worse than Yamanaka."_

"_She's only slept with two people._" Ami argued half–heartedly. "_Ino is way worse than her. Apparently she's been with at least ten different guys__ in the past couple of months__."_

Karin snorted. _"_Please_. I know for a fact that Haruno Sakura has been with more than two people."_

The fact that Karin's voice sounded so sure made Sakura's blood run cold. What did Karin know? Did she know what had happened? Sakura bit down on her lip as more tears formed. Only this time, she didn't bother to dab them away.

Ami didn't sound too convinced, "_Really? How many has she slept with, then?"_

"_I don't know the exact number, but I know it's more than ten. Actually, it may even be more than thirty."_

She bit down even harder on her lip to stop herself from crying out loud.

"_Now I know that you're lying._" Ami laughed loudly. "_Sakura is too obsessed with Sasuke__–__kun to let anybody else touch her."_

"_Are you questioning me?" _Karin snapped angrily. "_I know what I've been told and my sources are reliable, okay? They don't lie and neither do I!"_

Once again, the main door to the bathroom opened and the two girls fell silent as another set of footsteps entered. There was a quiet apology before the cubicle next to hers opened and shut.

"_Either way, Haruno Sakura is a slut and if she goes anywhere near my Sasuke, she'll regret it. Come on, let's go._" Karin muttered. "_If I'm late to next period then Iruka will no doubt throw a bitch fit again."_

The sound of the two leaving made Sakura let out a shaky breath before opening the cubicle door and walking over to the sinks. As she looked in the mirror, her eyes filled with even more tears. She had known that some of the things being said about her were bad, but hearing them made it even worse. Sakura preferred not hearing the rumours that were spread about her. No doubt the one Karin just said would be around school by next period. Ami always did have a big mouth.

A gasp brought Sakura's attention away from her reflection and via the mirror she looked behind her, only for her eyes to widen. Quickly using the tissue still in her hand to wipe under her eyes, Sakura gave the girl as much of a smile as possible. "Oh hey, Hinata I didn't see you there! Sorry to ask, but do you have any painkillers? My hand is killing me."

If Hinata noticed her lie, she didn't comment on it. Instead, the Hyuuga stepped forward and washed her hands before drying them and searching through her bag. "I'm s–sorry, but I don't have any." She told her, her features pretty much screaming her apology. "I have makeup wipes if you wish to use one."

Sakura chuckled. "Yeah, my makeup looks pretty bad now, doesn't it?"

"Oh! I d–didn't mean that." Hinata quickly told her, her eyes wide with shock. "I–"

"Hinata," Sakura chuckled once again. "It's fine. I know it looks bad."

The girl only smiled nervously and once again went through her bag before pulling out a packet and handing Sakura a makeup wipe. Her features became hesitant as her mouth opened and closed a few times before finally, she spoke up. "You shouldn't listen to Karin, Sakura–san." Hinata said softly, making Sakura pause and look at her. "I don't think you're a slut."

It was so strange hearing Hinata say 'slut'. Sakura turned to the mirror and quickly started removing her makeup. "Thanks, Hinata. And don't worry about it, I never listen to Karin. Second to Ino, that girl has to be one of the biggest gossips here! She's just jealous that I was once in a relationship with Sasuke and he won't even look at her unless it's to tell her to leave him alone."

"You were once in a relationship with Sasuke–kun?" Hinata sounded shocked but her eyes saddened when she saw pain flit across Sakura's features. "I–I'm sorry. I just didn't know–"

"You should stop apologising so much." Sakura smiled. "Don't be afraid to be yourself and speak your mind. Everybody is entitled to their opinions." She paused or a moment as she looked down at the makeup wipe before continuing with removing her makeup. "As for me and Sasuke, it's… it _was_ complicated. Our relationship wasn't exclusive, yet we both expected each other to be faithful. We didn't tell anybody about us either."

Hinata stayed silent as she watched Sakura. "You have very clear skin, Sakura–san." The girl smiled politely, but then blushed when Sakura looked at her.

"Thank you." She said softly before smiling brightly. "You do too!"

If it was possible, Hinata's blush grew and by the time Sakura had finally removed all of her makeup, the bell went, telling them that it was time for their next lesson. Throwing the now soiled wipe into the bin, Sakura grabbed her bag and looked at Hinata. "Are you coming to English?"

"Y–yes," Hinata nodded before following Sakura.

* * *

"You look different today." Kakashi commented as he sat down next to Sakura.

"No makeup."

Kakashi raised a brow. "What did you run out or something?"

Sakura shook her head and looked over at Hinata. "Nope, I took it off."

Something must have caught his attention as Kakashi's eyes widened. "What did you do to your hand?"

"Oh you mean this?" Sakura raised her cast and then shrugged when he nodded. "I broke it last Friday when I punched Gaara."

If it was possible, Kakashi's eyes widened even further and for a few moments, he couldn't speak. In front of them, Sasuke had completely tensed and beside Sakura, Hinata gasped. Their reactions made Sakura chuckle loudly until Kurenai sent her a dark look, immediately shutting her up. Usually the woman only gave those looks to Kakashi but apparently, she wasn't in a very good mood today.

"What do you mean you punched Gaara?" Kakashi demanded.

Sakura rolled her eyes at his response, knowing by now that it was his way of asking her to explain. "I mean, we got into an argument, I overreacted and punched him and the guy didn't even blink either! Gaara didn't even seem to feel it. Ugh, that annoyed me so much!" Sakura rolled her eyes and groaned before speaking again. "Then when we were in the middle of our detention, I found that I couldn't move my hand, so I made Gaara look at it and he told me it was broken. He took me to the hospital and then my mom made him stay for dinner."

"Gaara was over at your house?" Kakashi blinked in surprise. "Well… I… well, that's incredible."

"How is it?" Sakura frowned. "I made him take me to the hospital and because of that, I offered to pay him for the gas. Apparently prices have risen yet again!"

"Sakura, Gaara doesn't have any friends, so I doubt he's ever been to somebody's house before. What happened?"

She narrowed her eyes at Kakashi. "_I'm_ his friend." Sakura told him angrily before sighing and continuing with her story. "Well we just hung out and watched a movie, then when dinner was ready, we sat down, had to go through some stupid interrogation from my parents before he went home. Is my report okay for you, _sensei_?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes at her teasing; he had gotten pretty used to it by now. "So why weren't you in your previous lesson?"

Biting her lip, Sakura looked down at her hand. She honestly had no idea what to say to him. Usually, she could come up with a pretty good excuse, but today, her thoughts were all scrambled so she couldn't even think of one. "I…"

"S–she was with me, Kakashi–sensei." Hinata told him, making Sakura turn to the girl to look at her with wide eyes. She smiled at Sakura before looking at a slightly stunned Kakashi. "S–Sakura–san's hand was hurting her and she asked me if I had any painkillers. I t–thought I may have had some in my locker, but I didn't."

The silver haired man raised an eyebrow and looked down at Sakura. "That doesn't explain where you were for the whole fifty minutes of that lesson."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I thought you were supposed to be smart?" She grumbled, making his eyes narrow before she continued. "I'm not wearing any makeup, am I? Can't you guess already without me having to say it? When Hinata told me she had no painkillers, I went to my locker, but by then my hand was really starting to hurt. In the end I went to the girl's bathroom where Hinata found me near the end of first period and gave me a makeup wipe and a painkiller that she got from a friend."

Perhaps she had been wrong about Hinata. Maybe the Hyuuga heiress stuttered around everyone when she was nervous, not just her.

"Are you just upset that you had to sit through that entire lesson?" Sakura suddenly smirked.

"I had to explain to a student named Sai–"

She shook her head, a look of guilt and understanding on her features. "You don't need to say anymore. I'm sorry for leaving you with Sai."

* * *

At the end of the English lesson, the class all stood up and made their way out of the door, but as Sakura turned around, she saw that Kakashi wasn't following her and was instead walking up to Kurenai.

"Kakashi, what are you doing?"

He looked over his shoulder and smiled. "I just need to speak with Kurenai for a moment; I'll catch up to you."

Sakura frowned for a moment, trying to figure out what Kakashi could want to talk to Kurenai about and by the look on the woman's face, she was apparently curious as well. With a sigh, Sakura shrugged and left the room.

When she was gone, Kakashi turned to face Kurenai, who was now watching him. "Kurenai, I need to ask a favour of you." Her eyes narrowed a fraction, so Kakashi continued quickly and as he did, realisation showed on the woman's face. "It is about the English assignment you're going to be giving the class."

"I was wondering when you were going to come to me." Kurenai sighed, sitting down at her desk and shuffling a few sheets of paper around. "I already know what you want me to do, Kakashi, but I can't allow it. I can't simply change–"

"You know me well and you know that I wouldn't ask you for this if there were some other way." He told her seriously. "I'm hoping by doing this, it could help."

Biting her lip ever so slightly, Kurenai looked down at her graded papers before rubbing her aching temple and nodding once. "Fine, I'll do it. But if this all goes horribly wrong or she finds out, I'm telling her that is was you."

Kakashi smiled, though the only reason Kurenai could tell was because of the way his eyes creased. "Don't worry; I have a feeling everything will go right."

"It better had."

* * *

**A/N - I honestly can't remember whether or not I had anything to tell you guys. My mind has gone blank o.O  
**

**I'll tell you all one thing, though. I'm OBSESSED with Thirty Seconds to Mars. And Itachi. And Gaara. And Kakashi. Maybe in that order, but I'm not too sure yet.**

**Some of you are probably wondering when Sakura will actually start speaking with Sasuke again, and I can honestly tell you that it will be next chapter!**

**Just a warning, though a few of you can probably already tell, but this fic is going to be _long_.**

**I love your reviews, especially the long ones, so thank you!**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	7. Who Cares?

**Chapter 7 – Who Cares?**

Ever woken up one morning and had a feeling that something was going to change? It doesn't matter how big the thing was or would be changing, it's the feeling that matters. Well, she had that feeling.

It had been one month since Sakura had broken her wrist and since then, she and Gaara hadn't spoken. In fact, the only people who spoke to her at school were teachers and Kakashi. Oh and of course, the lunch ladies, but even they didn't seem to like her that much. It wasn't even like Sakura could ask 'what did I do wrong?' because she knew _exactly_ what she had done.

The cast was off now and had been for about a week or so.

Had she done something to upset Gaara? The question kept repeating itself in her mind. Well, that question and: Why had he stopped talking to her? It just didn't make any sense! Gaara had told her that they were friends and right now, he was the only friend she had. Whenever she tried to speak to him before or after class, he would only grunt in acknowledgement before literally disappearing. Sakura honestly had no idea where he went or how the hell he did it. All she did know was that it was annoying her. Why wouldn't he talk to her?

"Sakura, get up!" Mebuki's voice yelled from outside of her door. "You're going to be late for school if you don't get up_ now_."

Sakura groaned before finally getting out of bed, despite the fact her instincts were telling her not to.

* * *

Apparently they would be given an assignment today in their English lesson, one that required you to be paired up. At the sound of that, Sakura inwardly groaned and had to refrain from slamming her head against her desk, knowing that not only would it most likely startle the life out of Hinata, but it would also earn her unwanted attention. As though that wasn't bad enough, Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. It was first period, but he was nearly always on time. Okay, that was a lie, but he was never more than fifteen minutes late. Right now, half an hour had passed and Kakashi still hadn't arrived. Where could he be?

"Group seven, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura."

The two who were called out both tensed as everyone turned to stare at them. Whilst Sakura was looking at Kurenai with pleading eyes, Sasuke had his closed and his brow twitching every couple of seconds, showing them all his annoyance. Kurenai didn't seem to notice their silent distress as she continued to call out the other groups and their names.

"Group eight, Hyuuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba."

Neither Sasuke nor Sakura moved though, even when every other groups started to pair up. It wasn't until Kurenai snapped at Sasuke to move to the desk behind him that they finally did so. As Sasuke stood up and picked up his things, Sakura moved her chair as far as it would go and kept her eyes stuck to the window next to her. As she watched the clouds in the blue sky, she heard Sasuke pull back the chair before sitting down. She could also sense the others staring at them both, but Sakura refused to acknowledge any of them. Even when she felt Sasuke's eyes on her face, Sakura refused to look away from the window. She didn't want to see the look of hatred in his eyes, especially if it would be directed at her.

Suddenly, the blinds shut and when Sakura's eyes darted from the window to the person who had closed the blinds, she was surprised to see Kurenai standing in front of her. Kurenai's eyes were showing her annoyance no matter how hard she tried to hide it and stay calm.

"I'm sorry for startling you, Sakura." Kurenai told her in a somewhat soothing tone. "But that was the only way to gain your attention. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to continue with my lesson and tell you all about the assignment. You have been partnered with Sasuke because in the past, you both worked well together."

With that, Kurenai walked away from the table with Sakura's eyes practically piercing the older woman with her glare. Then, with a sigh, Sakura reluctantly turned to Sasuke. "You will have to come over to my place for the assignment." She told him, quickly averting her eyes when he looked at her. "My mother isn't all that comfortable with me…" Sakura frowned slightly as she tried to find the words before speaking again. "She isn't comfortable with me leaving the house without her."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes a fraction, but said nothing about it as he instead asked, "How should I contact you to arrange a time?"

Her heart started to beat faster as he spoke, as his voice made memories flash before her eyes, but Sakura forced herself to stop being so childish. She was no longer a little girl with a crush or the girl who had been with him. "Ring the home line. You still have the number, don't you?"

"Why can't I ring your mobile?" Sasuke once again narrowed his eyes. He didn't particularly like the thought of having to speak to Sakura's parents, especially her mother.

"I left my phone back at your house months ago and now I don't have one." She shrugged as though it wasn't a big deal. "And before you ask, I don't have any of my old social networking profiles, either. So you can either ring the home line or take a chance with simply turning up. Although, I don't recommend you do that."

Sasuke couldn't stop his fists from clenching. Was she _threatening_ him? "And why is that?"

Sakura looked at him and raised a brow at the scowl on his face and the anger in his low voice. Again, she shrugged before answering, "Because my mother won't let you in the house. She doesn't let anyone in now–a–days."

His anger dissipated as he seemed to remember something before he nodded once. "I know."

At his response, her eyes widened. "What do you mean you know?" Sakura's eyes then narrowed dangerously as she glared at him. "Not one of you came to my house during these past ten months!"

Sasuke turned back to his book and took down the notes on their assignment as he said, "I came by to see you several times when you first disappeared, but your mother always said you didn't want to see me."

Tears threatened to fill Sakura's eyes but she forced them back. "You're lying. She wouldn't do that."

Her mother knew all too well how much Sakura loved Sasuke. She knew that Sakura would have literally done anything and everything to see him, so why would she deny her daughter that? Why would Mebuki tell Sasuke that Sakura didn't want to see him, even though it could have cheered her up considerably? But then again, why would Sasuke lie? He never had in the past. Well, not to _her_ he hadn't.

"Believe what you want." Sasuke snapped as his brows furrowed a fraction.

Before he could even react, Sakura grabbed her things and stormed out of the English room, ignoring Kurenai as the woman called after her. By the time she turned off of the English corridor, Sakura was running. She ran until she came bursting out of a door and found herself on the school roof, only to stop in surprise. Sakura wasn't sure what surprised her more, the fact that she had come here of all places, or the fact that somebody else was also on the roof.

"What do you want?"

He came here for peace and quiet. Those idiots in his class were so annoying and they made him feel like beating the shit out of all of them. If they weren't talking to one another about pointless topics, then they were interrupting the lesson and if they weren't doing that, then they were bragging about how rich they all were and were up each other's asses.

"I didn't know you'd be up here, Gaara." Sakura mumbled before sitting down beside him against the wall. "I just… needed to get away for a while." She put her head into her hands and tried her best to hold back her tears. After a couple of minutes, Sakura spoke again. "Have you… have you ever found something out and it makes… makes you unsure about how to feel? Y–you know, something that makes you… makes you so… _angry_ a–and hurt?"

Gaara tilted his head to the side and looked down at her shaking form. Honestly, the girl looked a mess. Here she was, sitting on the school roof and holding her head in her hands whilst shaking and crying. He didn't know what to do. They had decided to be friends over a month ago, but they never really spoke that much. What was he supposed to say? Did she want the truth? "Yes."

Sakura looked up at him, her mascara and eyeliner mixing with her tears and making her look like a panda, but at the same time, it made her eyes look even brighter. "H–how do you deal with it?" She whispered and bit down on her lip to stop it from shaking.

Why was she asking these things? Why was she asking _him_? Gaara had no idea how to answer her question. Damn it. He had come up here for peace and to get away from everyone. "You don't." Gaara finally answered, seeing that she wouldn't just let it go.

"You're terrible at giving advice." Sakura chuckled before groaning and wiping under her eyes with a makeup wipe that she had pulled out of her bag. Since that time in the bathroom, Sakura had started carrying them around with her. "I just made such a fool of myself. Not only right now with you, but back in English…" Her face scrunched up as Sakura once again groaned. "Damn it."

Gaara didn't say a word as Sakura continued to curse herself and instead simply sat there and watched her with a mixture of confusion, amusement and annoyance.

* * *

"Thanks for walking with me." Sakura smiled as she looked up at the boy walking next to her.

He didn't really have much of a choice to walk with her and they both knew it. If he had declined, she would have dragged him there or yelled at him. Really Gaara had chosen the easiest choice of the two and simply walked with her. Unfortunately, Sakura hadn't warned him that they would be taking a detour so she could go to her locker first. And it was only when they were almost there that Gaara realised.

Whilst they walked, he hadn't failed to notice how_ a lot_ of people were staring at them. It was a strange feeling, if Gaara was completely honest. Before, people had ignored him and barely even moved out of his way when he walked the hallways. Now, everyone was giving them both a wide berth, watching them walk together with wide eyes and shocked expressions.

Was this what Sakura had to put up with all the time? At first Gaara had thought that perhaps she had been over–exaggerating about people staring at her and whispering, but now he could see clearly that she hadn't been. Why did Sakura get so much attention? Yes, she had once been the most popular girl in the school, hell, with the way they were all staring and talking about her, it seemed as though she still _was_, but seriously? Why should _anybody_ receive such a reaction, such treatment?

Gaara wasn't popular, but he was known for his anger and how violent he could be. It was why he was always getting into fights, because the idiots at school wanted to see how far Gaara could be pushed, how strong he really was. As the Yamanaka had said many times, he was a 'freak' and a 'nobody'. Hardly anybody took notice in him at school, but for that, he was grateful. Having everybody stare at him like they were right now was unnerving and he hated it.

"What the hell?"

At the sound of Sakura's tone, Gaara frowned and followed her gaze, only for his frown to deepen at what she was looking at. "Is that your locker?"

Sakura nodded and walked forward, immediately noticing how more and more people were suddenly crowding around her and Gaara.

"What's going on?" A deeper voice called and at the sound of the voice, Gaara looked over his shoulder towards Kakashi, who was looking around the crowds.

The moment Kakashi spotted Gaara and Sakura, he moved towards them. However his eyes immediately narrowed as he spotted what Sakura was looking at with a mixture of different emotions. Kakashi looked around the crowds, trying to see if he could notice anybody acting suspiciously, but the moment he did, two boys entered the small circle, looking confused until they spotted Sakura and her locker and froze, both of their eyes widening in shock.

She didn't know what to feel as she stared at her locker, as she stepped forward and ran her fingers over the spray painted letters that weren't even completely dry yet. A barely audible hum came from her as she realised it wasn't only spray painted, but also engraved. Whoever had done this obviously wanted to make sure it would be difficult to get rid of. Each letter felt like it was burning her skin, but it also felt like it was stabbing at her gut and heart. Who could write such a vile thing?

"So…" Sakura mumbled, looking over her shoulder at the crowd now surrounding her before fully turning to face them all. Almost instantly, her eyes locked with a set of dark ones before moving onto the shockingly blue ones beside them. "You all think I'm a slut?"

There was nothing but silence. Nobody knew how to react to the freakishly calm Sakura.

"_Fuck you_!" She yelled angrily before spinning around and slamming her fist into the locker, creating a loud bang that had many jumping at the noise. Her recently healed hand was starting to throb, but Sakura ignored the pain and continued to punch her locker, creating dents with each punch. As she did, she felt all of her pent up aggression, anger and hurt pouring out of her. With each hit, it felt like she was releasing her darker feelings.

"Sakura," Kakashi called out her name with a warning in his tone, but made no move to grab her since he knew it would only anger her further, "stop it."

Sakura turned around and glared at him. "Why should I?" As she screamed at him, tears came to her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to push them away but then, a thought came to her like a bolt of lightning had hit her, making them pause. "You have _got_ to be kidding me!"

Kakashi frowned and finally moved forward, noticing that her fists had unclenched as she ran her hands through her hair. "What is it, Sakura?"

Her features grew angrier before Sakura took a deep, calming breath. "This wasn't here before my English lesson and it is still wet. So do you know what that means?" At his raised eyebrow, she continued. "Whoever did it is obviously one of _his,_" Pointing at Sasuke, Sakura started yelling again, "fans!"

"Are you blaming me for this?" Sasuke asked angrily, still annoyed that she had run out during English and left him there, looking like an idiot.

"No, I'm not blaming you." She mumbled, not even able to look him in the eye. "But it wasn't until after we were paired up for that stupid assignment that somebody did this." Pulling her bag back onto her shoulder, Sakura sighed. "I'm going to go see Kurenai–sensei. Maybe she'll be able to swap the groups around or something."

The Uchiha simply shook his head at Sakura, as though he couldn't even believe what he was hearing or seeing. "So because of one little insignificant word, you're going to give up, going to let them walk all over you?"

Once again, Sakura's features became angry as she finally looked him in the eye. "You're not the one who is being called a slut!"

"You've been called much worse before." Sasuke stated, looking a mixture of bored and annoyed. "Why are you letting this bother you?"

It was true, Sakura had been called much, _much _worse before. She had been called things that were a hell of a lot more offensive than the word 'slut' and hadn't even batted an eyelid and simply brushed it off. Now however, the word kept playing in her mind, yelling, _screaming_, at her. "I'm different now." Sakura mumbled. "I'm not the same person I used to be."

For a moment, Sasuke could only stare in silence before he scoffed and walked away, followed by Naruto, who only looked at Sakura with a hesitant expression before he decided on leaving.

Once they had disappeared, the audience turned back to Sakura, who was now wiping under her eyes before she turned around to face her locker again. There wasn't much damage, but it seemed as though her punches had made a few dents. Not particularly caring anymore, Sakura opened the door and took out what she would need and any valuables she had in there. Apparently people at Konoha High weren't to be trusted. It was sad really.

Sakura paused for a moment as her hand brushed against something before a small smile graced her lips and she picked it up out of her locker, closed the door and pulled the lid off. People started to whisper as she wrote on the locker door, the black of her marker standing out far more than the red of the letters and the blue of the locker, especially when she went over her words and made them bolder. With a grin, Sakura put the top back on her marker, put it in her bag and turned to Gaara, who looked amused by what she had written, although Kakashi frowned when he read it before shaking his head, making a mental note to contact the janitor later.

As the three walked towards Sakura and Gaara's next lesson, the crowd walked forward, examining what Sakura had written.

_Who the fuck cares?_

* * *

**A/N - If you're lucky, I might update twice today, though it won't be straight away. I've got really bad stomach cramps and I mean _bad_. I can't even get out of bed! The only good thing is that my mum has decided to be nice to me and get me some snacks. Oh and the fact that the latest Naruto chapter should be posted soon!  
**

**This chapter was posted twice becaus_e, _for some reason, I had the latest chapter of my DBZ fic at the bottom of this chapter. Fail.**

**Anyways, quite a few people have asked me if this is SasuSaku or GaaSaku or somehow all three of them together. It's SasuSaku _and_ GaaSaku and in the end, Sakura has to make a choice. But that is all I'm giving away right now!**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	8. Memories

**Cha****pter 8 – ****Memories**

Today was the day of her first meet up with Sasuke. They had decided yesterday during their English lesson that he would come over every Wednesday after he had finished at practise and also on Saturdays after lunch. Since today was a Saturday, Sasuke should be arriving in just two hours.

Sakura hadn't been able to sleep the night before, not even a single wink. It seemed like a childish and pathetic thing to do, but she just couldn't help but feel excited. For the first time in months, she and Sasuke were going to have to speak to each other and during their homework session, she was going to apologise and explain exactly what had happened. It was also because of this that she hadn't been able to sleep. Trying to find the words to explain everything was difficult, especially since what had happened was… it was something Sakura hated to think or speak about.

For the better half of the morning, Sakura had been tidying her bedroom, making sure it was presentable and nothing embarrassing was on show, like her _Icha Icha_ books. When her mother had been passing her bedroom, she had looked shocked seeing Sakura tidying up, but otherwise smiled at her daughter and continued walking. For the rest of the morning, she had been getting ready.

Not wanting Sasuke to think she was trying too hard, Sakura had decided on wearing a pair of denim shorts, a long–sleeved checked shirt and converse. The checked shirt was left unbuttoned, because underneath was a plain black vest top. Also, because of the shortness of her shorts, her legs looked even longer. That last part was something she had read about in a fashion magazine and had decided to try it out.

Like her outfit, her hair was pretty casual. It was parted down the middle and fell in loose waves down her back. Every now and then, Sakura would run her hand through it, giving it extra volume. Her makeup wasn't anything special, just a single layer of foundation, a couple of coats of mascara and a small amount of barely tinted lip gloss.

Since it was a nice day out, Sakura had opened the doors to her balcony, letting the soft breeze enter her room.

Sakura hadn't confronted Mebuki about the whole not letting her friends over thing for one reason: she wanted to see what her mother would do when Sasuke turned up. Would Mebuki tell him to leave? Would she tell Sasuke that Sakura wasn't in? If so, would she then go on to tell Sakura that nobody had called, or would she simply not say anything at all?

There would only be one way to find out, so with a deep breath, Sakura left her room to go downstairs and wait for Sasuke's arrival.

* * *

The sound of the doorbell ringing caused Sakura's heart to skip a beat. She had only been waiting for half an hour, which meant that Sasuke was pretty early. Not that she was complaining.

"I'll get it, Sakura!"

At the sound of her mother's voice quickly approaching, Sakura's eyes widened before she shot out of her seat and darted towards the front door, almost colliding with the doorframe to the living room door as she did so. Now was not the time to be thinking about Sasuke's punctuality. She had to make it to the front door before her mother did!

When Sakura found that she had won the race between her and Mebuki – a race that Mebuki had no idea she was participating in – she inwardly cheered before relaxing her features.

Sakura opened the door and gave Sasuke a small smile as she stepped to the side to allow him entry and when he entered the house, she hadn't missed how his eyes looked around, as though he had never been to her house before. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of his actions, so instead just smiled. Just as she was closing the door, however, Mebuki came darting into the hallway, surprising both Sakura and Sasuke with her startled appearance.

"Sakura," Mebuki's eyes widened before a smile was forced onto her face, "I told you that I would get that!"

Narrowing her eyes, Sakura gave her mother a dry look. This was what she had been hoping wasn't true, but at the same time, knew that it was. "Why? So you can tell my friends that I don't want to see them again?"

Mebuki's eyes widened even more as she looked up at Sasuke. The Uchiha was standing silently, not showing that he was surprised at how controlling Mebuki had become. Since when had Sakura not even been allowed to answer the front door? Since when could she not have friends over? Since when could _he_ not visit? Mebuki had always welcomed him over, hell she had always _invited_ him, Naruto and even Itachi over ever since they were little kids!

"You were busy at the time, Sakura." She said slowly, her eyes coming away from Sasuke and over to Sakura. Silently warning Sakura with her eyes, Mebuki spoke again. "I don't – where do you think you're going?"

Sakura grabbed Sasuke's wrist and pulled him towards the stairs. She was a little surprised at how he seemed to allow her to drag him behind her, but said nothing to him as she instead snapped at her mother, "We're going to work on our English assignment."

"Not in your bedroom you're not!"

Turning to look over her shoulder at Mebuki, Sakura once again narrowed her eyes. "I'm not sitting in the living room and having you hover around me. You know better than anyone that I hate being watched." If Sasuke was surprised by her harsh tone, he didn't say anything. Mebuki however, looked unsure and hesitant as she watched Sakura, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't anger her daughter further. "If it will make you feel more comfortable, I'll leave my bedroom door open. It's not like Sasuke and I are going to be doing anything other than schoolwork."

There was the sound of a deep breath being taken before Mebuki slowly nodded before looking up at Sasuke. "Excuse my behaviour, Sasuke. Would you like anything to drink or to eat?" When Sasuke simply shook his head, Mebuki turned to Sakura and repeated her question.

"Some of that strawberry flavoured water you bought the other day, please." Sakura smiled before continuing her walk upstairs with Sasuke right behind her.

* * *

It was too quiet.

They were working in absolute silence, the only time they spoke was when they were discussing work and even then, it was hardly more than a couple of words. How was Sakura supposed to explain things to Sasuke if he was hardly even talking to her? If she just said it, there was a chance things would get extremely uncomfortable and that was definitely something that Sakura didn't want. To tell him right now, out of the blue, would be like… information overload. Knowing Sasuke, he wouldn't know how to handle news as big as hers if she just said it and would shut her out.

For what felt like the hundredth time, Sakura glanced over at Sasuke.

Because of the nice weather, they were sitting outside on her balcony, doing their work on the table. Despite Sakura not wanting her mother to hover, both she and Sasuke had noticed how she kept walking passed the bedroom, looking in as inconspicuously as possible. As though that wasn't bad enough, when Mebuki had realised that they were on the balcony, she went into the garden to tend to her flowers. This told them she was spying on them for two reasons. The first being that Mebuki paid for somebody to do the gardening as she hated getting dirty and the second was that she had been watering the same bush for about fifteen minutes now.

Closing her eyes and trying to ignore the stress she could feel building within her, Sakura placed her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands. Like she had been instructed to do, she took deep breaths, trying her best to _not_ start screaming at her mother, since that would definitely not help anything.

"I just want some privacy." Sakura mumbled into her hands when she realised her deep breathing wasn't helping.

Sasuke looked over at Sakura as she talked to herself, knowing immediately by the way her eyebrows were knitting together and the barely even noticeable tremble in her hands that she was growing angry. They had known each other for pretty much their entire lives, so he knew all of her tells and quirks, no matter how much time they had spent apart recently. Not only was there that, but there was also the slight bounce of her knee and the way her hands were now clenching into fists were also signs.

He didn't know what to say or what to do, so Sasuke remained quiet although he, as discreetly as possible, moved the glass of lemonade Mebuki had insisted on him having out of her way. It was just a precaution in case she did snap as he didn't want her to ruin the work they had done so far because if she did, then they would have to redo it all, which meant spending more time together.

It was already hard sitting across from her like he was. Sasuke had been trying his best to ignore her since her return, trying to act as though she didn't even exist, but it was pretty much impossible. Every time he was walking the school hallway, he would either pass her or somebody would be talking about her. In English, unless they weren't discussing the assignment, he sat in front of her and if they _were_ working on the assignment, then he would have to sit beside her. At lunch, since she and Kakashi were always there now, he always saw her eating her lunch with the man in the cafeteria.

Right now, Sasuke was having trouble banishing old memories from his mind of their times together. Not only as just friends, but those times when they had been more, when they had been intimate. The black vest top under her checked shirt wasn't too low cut, but it still gave him a nice enough view. Her shorts were… damn, just… _damn_. All Sasuke could think of when he first saw her legs was the way they used to wrap around his waist, how he used to stroke them, kiss them, hell, Sasuke had even _licked_ certain parts of them!

His body ached with the need to reach out and touch her, to kiss her, to pin her beneath him and make her _scream_ his name the way she used to. At one point, he actually had almost gone to pull her against him and push her against the wall when they had been walking through her bedroom towards the balcony.

Running a hand over his face, Sasuke had to refrain for outwardly groaning, since he knew it would gain her attention, therefore making her speak with him. He used to love the way she said his name, but now, it only brought him memories he wished would just _go away_.

These sessions were going to be the death of him.

* * *

It was ten minutes later and her mother was still hovering around her and Sasuke. It was driving her mad, especially since her mother knew very well that Sakura hated being watched, hated feeling as though she had no privacy.

Finally having enough, Sakura stood up as calmly as possible before walking to the edge of her balcony, bending over to look down at the ground as she rested her elbows on the brick wall. Not even aware of the fact that yet again her actions had brought more memories to Sasuke's mind, making his mouth go dry. It brought back the memory of the time when he had bent her over the table in her kitchen and took her, hard and fast.

"Hey mom," Sakura called out to her mother, who was still watering the same plant, "I know you've been rather stressed lately, but that's still no reason to take your frustration out on a helpless plant." At Mebuki's questioning look, Sakura rolled her eyes before finally yelling. "You've been watering that bush for over twenty five minutes!_ Damn it_, what happened to having privacy in this place? _What happened to our agreement_?"

It had definitely been a while since Sasuke had heard her yelling like _that_, especially at her own mother, but that wasn't the thing that caught his attention. The thing that had caught his attention was Sakura pushing off of her elbows and placing her hands far apart on the brick wall as she also did the same with her legs. Surely _that_ move wasn't accidental, especially since she was still leaning forward and giving him a good view of her long legs and behind.

Sasuke wasn't an idiot. He knew he was still attracted to Sakura. How could he not be? They had been sleeping together for months, possibly even a year, before she disappeared. He knew every sensitive spot on her body, just like she knew his. Sasuke could even recall every time they had spent together and when he had heard Ino screaming at Sakura in the cafeteria on her first day back, he knew immediately when she had seen them together. There had only be seven occasions when Sasuke had allowed Sakura to be on top and only one of them had been at her house, in the room behind him.

How the hell had Ino even gotten in that night? He remembered everything about it! He remembered locking the front door before following Sakura upstairs… damn she must have used the spare key!

* * *

"_Will you make sure the front door is locked?" Sakura called from the kitchen. "I hate it be__i__n__g__ left unlocked when my parents aren't home."_

_Sasuke rolled his eyes but didn't respond as he did as she asked, placing the key onto the small table a couple of feet away from the front door once he was done. It was rather ridiculous how paranoid Sakura could be, especially since on their entire road, there were only five houses, including his and Sakura's. Also, it wasn't like he was going to let anything happen to her. Well, unless it was _him_ who's doing the torturing…_

_A devilish smirk graced his lips as he watched Sakura step out of the kitchen, making her eyes widen at the predatory look in his eyes before she darted towards the stairs, giggling as she ran up them with him right behind her. It wasn't until he got to the top that he caught up to Sakura, pinning her against the wall before pressing his body to hers, loving how warm she felt. For some reason, Sakura had always been a little warmer than him, but he rather enjoyed it._

_It wasn't even a minute later that they were bursting into her bedroom, not even bothering to shut the door after it had slammed against the wall as they stumbled towards her bed, only pausing when they impatiently started tearing the clothes from each other's bodies. Their kiss was fiery and passionate as Sasuke gripped a tight hold of her hips, bringing her body closer to his own and revelling in her soft moan, making him smirk into the kiss as he realised it would be one of _those_ nights. Every so often, Sakura would be much more responsive and sensitive to his touches, meaning she wouldn't hold back whilst screaming his name when he brought her to orgasm._

"_I want to be on top." Sakura breathed whilst fisting her hand in his hair as he moved his kisses to her neck, making her feel weak at the knees._

_Nipping at the spot he knew to be sensitive, Sasuke smirked. "Sure you'll be able to handle it?"_

_Knowing that he was talking about how sensitive her body was, Sakura rolled her eyes, but the effect was ruined by the whimper that came from her a moment later when she felt his lips descend to her breasts. His hands were stroking their way up from her hips until he reached the clasp at the front of her bra and with the skill he had picked up from the__ir__ previous times together, Sasuke undid the bra and flung it across the room, not even looking to see where it landed as __he __pressed her now bare chest to his, him having lost his shirt not too long ago._

"_If you let… me be on top this time…" Sakura breathlessly spoke before her lips were captured once again. When she pulled away, she was panting for breath. "I'll let you fuck me from behind next time."_

_Again, Sasuke smirked as he looked down at her pink cheeks, swollen lips and darkened eyes that were clouded with lust. "What makes you think I'm only going to take you once tonight? Your parents are gone for the entire weekend and neither of us have any plans." His lips ghosted over hers but whenever she attempted to kiss him he pulled back a little, teasing her with how close they were. "Don't wear yourself out too much."_

"_You're so arrogant." She mumbled, but her words ended with a sharp cry when Sasuke cupped her through her underwear._

"_You're so annoying."_

_Neither of them took offence to the names anymore, having heard them one too many times._

_Feeling how wet she was already, Sasuke made quick work of removing her underwear as well as his own before pushing Sakura back against the bed, only to have her immediately turn them over so that she was on top and straddling his hips._

"_What, no foreplay?" He questioned with a raised brow, his hands coming to rest on her thighs.  
_

_Sakura shook her head before taking his erection in her hand and guiding him to her entrance. "I need you inside me… _now._"_

_At one point during their strange relationship, Sasuke had been certain that Sakura was a nymphomaniac, but then he discovered that he could also feel the desperate need to have her near him, to be inside of her. They didn't use condoms as Sakura was on the pill and he didn't really like the feeling of them, he thought that the sex felt so much better without them._

_She started slowly, moving at a torturous pace that soon had the both of them covered in a thin sheet of sweat. As her fingers curled against his chest, her hips rolled and grinded against his, the friction making her body tingle deliciously. However it wasn't long until Sasuke was shifting his position ever so slightly, gripping her hips tightly and lifting his hips to meet hers as he slammed her down against him. The __noises she made was like music to his ears and the sight of her looking down at him with such a hungry gaze only made him increase his speed._

_Soon enough she was collapsing on top of him and it didn't even take him a couple of seconds for Sasuke to wrap one arm around her hips whilst the other wrapped around her back, his elbow starting in the middle and finishing with his hand holding onto the corner of her shoulder, pinning her body to his._

_The sound of flesh smacking flesh, Sakura's sobs of pleasure and his grunts filled the room as Sasuke drove into her hard, feeling as though he couldn't get enough of her. After a couple of moments though, Sakura's moans began to rise in pitch and her hips moved more desperately against his own and not only that, but also the tightening of her walls around him was telling Sasuke that she was close._

_Flipping them over so that he was on top and in__ complete__ control, Sasuke lowered himself against her, knowing that the feeling of his skin on hers as well as either soft, tender words, or dirty words would push her over the edge. Considering to how tightly she was holding onto him, how she kept panting and moaning his name into his ear, Sasuke could tell it was the former. "You're so beautiful." He told her truthfully in a breathless whisper and immediately, Sakura started to react to his words as her hips bucked uncontrollably against his own. "No one will ever compare to you."_

_At his words, Sakura reached her first of many orgasms that night, neither of them hearing the front door slam shut._

* * *

Damn it. Why couldn't he stop thinking about Sakura? If he wasn't thinking about fucking her, then he was thinking about all of the other times they had shared together, the times when he had only just been learning of his feelings for the pink haired girl, the times when he had seen her at her worst and still felt those stupid, annoying feelings for her.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as something suddenly occurred to him. Naruto hadn't found out about him and Sakura, he had been _told_. No, he had been sent a fucking video of the two of them together! Sasuke had seen the video after the blond had left after their fight, after Sakura had also left. Now that he thought about it, that night had been the last time he ever saw her before she disappeared…

Back to the video, when he had seen it, Sasuke had thought it was some kind of a sick joke. He had thought that perhaps he was seeing things because surely he would have realised if somebody had broken into Sakura's house? Saying that though, they had been so lost in each other's bodies that the apocalypse could have started and they wouldn't have even noticed.

It was Ino who had recorded the video and sent it to Naruto, knowing of the blond's feelings towards Sakura and the history between the two. She knew that Naruto would get angry if he saw it, if he learned about them from somebody else and realised they had been lying to him. Damn it! Why hadn't he learned any of this sooner? Sasuke had never particularly liked Ino – he thought she was too 'out there' with her advances towards him. At least Sakura's had been genuine whereas Ino was just looking for a fuck from the most popular guy at Konoha High. Ino probably would have added him to her 'done' collection Sakura had once accidentally told him about when she had been drunk.

There wasn't anything to be done about it now, though. Just as long as she didn't show that video to anyone else and had deleted it, then they wouldn't have too much of a problem. She could go on with her sad need to socially destroy Sakura whilst he could go on with trying not to _fuck_ Sakura and forget why he was treating her so coldly.

Shaking his head with a huff of annoyance, Sasuke rose to his feet and gathered his things, feeling as though he had done enough work for the day. Truthfully, he just wanted to get away from Sakura before he lost his mind, before she drove him insane.

"Wait!" Sakura quickly yelled as she darted back over to him. "W–where are you going? We still have so much to work on!"

The look in her eyes was almost pitiful and had it been anyone else, Sasuke would have called them pathetic before leaving. However, no matter how angry her leaving had made him, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to say anything horrible to her or hurt her, because after everything she had done, even after everything she had put him through, she was still Sakura.

She was still the first girl he had ever loved and the first girl to break his heart.

Not that she ever needed to know either of those things.

"Sasuke, I need to tell–"

"I need to go." He quickly interrupted her, not seeming to even care that Sakura had been talking or about to talk.

Her features saddened before Sakura spoke. "…Right. Well… I guess I'll see you around."

Sasuke didn't even reply as he left, leaving Sakura to watch after him on her balcony as he left the house, got into his car and drove away without looking back.

* * *

**A/N - So now you all see what Sasuke's problem is, right? He's in love with her, but her leaving had broken his heart and hurt him, so he's acting cold and distant so that it doesn't happen again!  
**

**This came out later than what I thought it would, but honestly, I've been asleep pretty much all day, only getting up to get a drink or to go to the toilet.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	9. You Make Me Feel Worthless!

**Chapter 9 – ****You Make Me Feel Worthless!**

Have you ever wondered about who would come to visit you in the hospital if you were ever in an accident or got really sick? Or which of your friends would really care enough to be there and stay with you, no matter how bad it got? Sakura had always wondered that and in a way, she still did. Like, if she died right here, right now, whose life would she have impacted and who would truly be sad or heartbroken that she was gone forever? When she had been younger, Sakura had always dreamed of Sasuke being utterly broken by just the mere thought of her dying or getting injured. However as she got older, she realised just how morbid her thoughts were and the sad truth that Sasuke probably wouldn't even care.

Well, she had definitely been wrong about one thing.

Now that she was physically much closer to him and looking him in the eye for the first time in what felt like forever, Sakura could see just how broken Sasuke looked. He had always been able to hide his emotions, but now it seemed more like he _had_ to hide his emotions, like he didn't trust anybody to see them. Had she done that to him? Had she really hurt him that badly?

It had been one month since they started their English project together. In one whole month, their conversations had been strained, awkward and just… not what she had expected. Sakura had been hoping that the moment they were alone, Sasuke would jump her and tell her how much he cared for her and loved her and that he would listen to and accept her apology.

Instead, every single time, they sat on the floor of her bedroom and worked, now that it was getting too cold to sit out on the balcony. They only spoke when it was something to do with the project and if it was about anything else Sasuke would simply ignore her or grunt. It reminded her of back when they were kids, back when she had had an annoying fan–girl crush on him and he hated her for it. Well, Sasuke never _hated_ her, but he did get annoyed with her. That's what it felt like whenever they were together now, like she was annoying him. Not only that, but because of all the work she had missed, Sakura found it hard to keep up with Sasuke and if he noticed her struggling, he didn't say anything about it or offer any help. It made her feel so stupid and pathetic. It made her feel useless.

So, here she sat, in a small café not too far from her home. It was time for one of their meet ups, but Sakura had decided that she wouldn't turn up. Yes, it seemed a little over the top, especially since they met at _her_ house, but she honestly didn't think she could stand another session like that. They were making her feel too low about herself and she really did _not_ need that sort of thing right now.

Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun and her bangs framed her face, stopping the neighbouring tables from seeing her eyes. Sakura was starting to get used to wearing no makeup, although she definitely felt much more comfortable wearing it. She hadn't put any on today because she had to get out of the house fast in case Sasuke turned up early like he sometimes did. It was also because of that that she was wearing plain jeans and a long sleeved, hooded top with converse. Her entire outfit for that day was casual and comfortable, but it definitely wasn't stylish and it certainly didn't make her feel very beautiful.

It was Halloween in a couple of days and she couldn't help but smile as she watched a little girl twirl around the café in her princess dress before curtsying to them all. Not many people paid any attention to her, which seemed to make her sad as she lowered her brown eyes to the ground, her soft brown hair falling into them. At the sight of the hurt girl, Sakura's heart clenched and before she even knew it, she was clapping.

At the sound of her applause, the girl's head shot up before she looked at Sakura and blushed, giving her a grin. It surprised Sakura when she ran over to her, but she didn't show it and instead pulled out the chair beside her for the girl to sit on.

"Hi!"

Sakura smiled. "Hi, your dress is very pretty. Are you Belle from Beauty and the Beast by any chance?"

At her words, the girl's smile became even brighter as she sat up excitedly, practically standing on her chair. "You've seen Beauty and the Beast?"

"Of course! I loved that film when I was a child. And in my opinion," Sakura lowered her voice and hearing the quieter tone, the girl leaned it, "it's better than what adults are watching. Yuck!"

The girl laughed loudly. "I'm Azuki!" She suddenly told Sakura, her eyes warm with her bright smile. "What's your name?"

"Sakura?"

At the sound of her name being called uncertainly, Sakura looked up, only for her eyes to widen at the sight before her. Standing beside her table was none other than her English teacher, Kurenai! And beside her stood a tall, bulky man with tanned skin and brown eyes and hair. Sakura was certain that he was also a teacher at Konoha High, but she wasn't too sure. Seeing the resemblance to the girl sat beside her, Sakura guessed he was Azuki's father. "Kurenai–sensei, I didn't see you in here!"

"I didn't see you either since your hood is up." Kurenai replied with a raised, disapproving eyebrow since it wasn't really allowed in this certain café.

"I'm trying to avoid somebody." Sakura laughed before lowering her hood and when she did, Azuki's brown eyes widened.

"Wow, you have pink hair!"

Sakura once again chuckled. "I do."

Kurenai was silent for a couple of moments as she exchanged glances with the man beside her before looking back at Sakura, her eyes concerned. "You're not in any trouble, are you Sakura?"

Seeing why she thought this, Sakura quickly shook her head. "No! It's um…" For a moment, she looked slightly uncomfortable before sighing. "It's Sasuke." She told Kurenai, making the woman's eyes narrow, however instead of giving her time to ask her anything, Sakura continued. "It's just kind of… _hard_… speaking to him after all this time and he's giving me the cold shoulder. Being around him makes me kind of uncomfortable."

The older woman's eyes softened. "I'm sorry for putting you in that position Sakura; if I had known I would have never agreed to it."

"Agreed to it?"

Her eyes widened, but knowing there was no way out, Kurenai answered, "Your assistant, Kakashi, asked me for a favour, saying that being forced to work together might help you settle things with Sasuke. If I had known it would make you this uncomfortable, I wouldn't have agreed to it."

Again, Sakura shook her head although this time, it was with disbelief. "That bas–"

"Language," Kurenai quickly interrupted her, her eyes going to Azuki who was still staring at Sakura's hair. Then, she sighed. "Azuki, I'm sure Sakura doesn't want you staring at her like that. It's unnerving."

This time, it was Sakura's turn for her eyes to widen. "This is your daughter? _You_ have a kid?"

The man beside Kurenai chuckled and his voice was deep as he spoke. "A husband, too."

"Sorry," Sakura mumbled, her cheeks warming. "I didn't mean to sound so shocked… it's just… you look so young and… and _hot_ to be a mother!"

Kurenai couldn't help but laugh. "Thank you, Sakura, but Azuki is six years old, so I've had a lot of time to get my figure back. This is my husband, Asuma, by the way. He's one of the history teachers at school."

Ah, so he _did_ work at Konoha High.

"Hi." He dipped his head to her.

She smiled, "Nice to meet you."

Then, the woman turned to her daughter, her eyes stern. "Come on, Azuki, I'm sure Sakura would–"

"I don't mind!" Sakura interrupted, looking up at the couple with a small smile. "Sitting with Azuki is a lot better than spending the afternoon with Sasuke."

Once again, Kurenai looked guilty. "I really am sorry about that, Sakura. Kakashi and I thought we would be doing more good than bad."

Sakura waved her hand through the air dismissively. "If it were anyone other than Sasuke, it probably would have worked. Oh," Sakura suddenly paused, looking up at Kurenai hesitantly, "is there any chance you can help me out? I mean with English. I've missed so much work and with the pace _he_ works at, it makes me feel a little inadequate."

She nodded. "Of course, Sakura, just come to my class after school on Fridays. I know it's the weekend, but it's the only time I'm free, I'm afraid."

"That's fine!" Sakura assured her before looking down at Azuki. "And I really don't mind having Princess Azuki, here, sitting with me." The girl looked up at Sakura with wide eyes, a large smile aimed right at her.

"Only if it isn't a problem," Kurenai replied before asking, "We were actually about to have some lunch, would you like something? It'll be our treat."

There was a moment of silence before Sakura nodded and told the woman her order. She knew how impressionable kids were and at Azuki's age especially. When she was six years old, Sakura had obsessed with looking like the princess' in the movies, wanting big hair, big dresses, heels and a slim figure. She had even gone as far as to stealing one of her mother's bras and stuffing it with socks so that it looked like she had breasts! Once Azuki had told Kurenai and Asuma what she wanted, the couple went to sit down on a table not too far from theirs before they ordered.

Sakura had always liked kids. She liked how innocent they were, how easy it was to make them happy. Once they grew up, they would realise that being a teenager or an adult wasn't everything they thought it would be, they would no longer innocent, they would no longer be easily made happy. Despite hardly even knowing her, it made Sakura's heart clench painfully at the thought of Azuki going through the struggles that came with adolescence, the need to fit in, to be pretty, be popular.

When their food arrived, they ate whilst talking, discussing who their favourite movie characters were. It was when they were halfway through their meal when the door opened, the person making Kurenai a couple of tables away tense when she noticed him approaching Sakura and Azuki.

"Sakura," A voice called out, not sounding all too happy.

At the sound of his voice, Sakura's eyes widened before she looked up to face him. "S–Sasuke," She gasped before looking down, avoiding his hard eyes. "How did you find me?"

He wasn't happy at all and it was obvious with the look he was giving her however, before he could say anything, Azuki quickly jumped to her feet, the help of the chair making her level with Sasuke's chest. "Don't look at Princess Sakura that way!"

His eyes widened at the glare he was receiving from a _kid_, before narrowing and turning back to Sakura. "You blew me off to come and play make–believe with a kid?"

It seemed what he said wasn't the right thing as Azuki's eyes flashed dangerously and she immediately stood up on the table, stomping across it until she was right in his face. "It isn't make–believe you big bully! Why are you being mean to Princess Sakura?"

Sasuke's patience was wearing thin and it was obvious as he looked around the girl in front of him, the one who looked close to actually _hitting him_ and over to Sakura as he demanded, "Who is this?"

Sakura stood up quickly, lifting Azuki off of the table and onto the ground when she saw they were gaining unwanted attention. However, she didn't need to answer the question as both Kurenai and Asuma appeared behind her, the man placing his hand on Azuki's shoulder to keep her in place as she tried to go over to Sasuke once again. Was it bad that a part of Sakura wanted to see Azuki hit him?

"She's my daughter, Sasuke." Kurenai answered coolly, giving him a warning look.

He shook his head with disbelief before turning back to Sakura. "Your mother is worried about you and wants you to go home. She would have come herself, but I told her I would find you and bring you back."

"Sakura?" Kurenai called out, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder. "I think you should go with him, especially if your mother is worried about you. Thank you for spending time with Azuki today."

Sakura smiled and nodded before kneeling down so she was eye level with the pouting girl. "I like your attitude, Azuki." She complimented her, making the pout turn into a devilish smile that made the previously innocent girl look downright evil. "And don't let anybody tell you that being a princess is make–believe, okay? I'll see you around sometime."

With that, both Sasuke and Sakura left.

* * *

"Why did you stand me up?" Sasuke demanded once they were in the car.

For a moment, Sakura didn't reply. Instead, she chose to simply stare out of the window, like she was trying hard to pretend like she wasn't there with him and her reaction only made Sasuke angrier. How could she treat him so coldly after all this time? But… then again… he had been treating her the same way, hadn't he?

Shaking his head, Sasuke drove forward. He and Sakura were different. She was the one who just left without saying goodbye, not him. She was the one who didn't call or email or even write a letter, not him! At least _he_ would have called. In fact, Sasuke had called, he had tried to visit her at her house, he had tried to email her, even going as far as to practically stalk her social networking profiles, but what did he find? He found nothing. Whenever he visited, she was always busy. Whenever he called the house (her mobile had been left at his) Mebuki answered, telling him once again she was busy. His emails went ignored and nothing new ever came up on her profiles except for when people bitched about her.

"Can we put some music on?"

At her quiet voice, Sasuke glanced down at her. "No."

"Fine," She sighed tiredly, her eyes going back to the window.

Sasuke couldn't believe how… how _tired_ she looked. It looked as though she hadn't slept in days! With a sigh, Sasuke switched on the radio, turning it to the station he knew she loved. The look in her eyes made his chest hurt and it was like he couldn't even stop himself and when the radio switched on, the small smile on her lips made the pain dull ever so slightly. The music was kept low so that they could talk.

_Do you remember when we fell in love?  
Three times a day we couldn't get enough.  
We spent the weekends with nobody else,  
I just had to have you for myself!  
I used to love the way you called my name.  
Thought that it would always be this way!  
You held me like you'd never let me go!  
I wanna know.  
I wanna know!_

The song that was playing made Sasuke frown, but he tried his best to ignore it. He knew it, it was a song by James Bourne called 'Want Me Like That' and it had been one of Sakura's favourite songs at one point. For a whole week straight she had played it on repeat, singing along to it at the top of her lungs. However now, as he looked at her from the corner of his eyes, he believed it may no longer be her favourite, especially when her eyes closed and she took a deep breath, like she was either trying to calm herself down or trying not to cry. Sasuke believed that it may be the former, especially when he saw the angry glint in her eye growing. What the hell was up with her?

_Do you still want me like that?  
Do you still want me like that?_

"Why did you stand me up?" He repeated his earlier question, but this time with a much calmer voice and facial expression.

_It's like  
If you can cast your mind to way back when  
I'd count the days till I'd see you again  
When we spent every second of our time  
Lost in the moment where the stars align  
So crazy 'bout each other, we were blind  
So into you that I could read your mind  
You swore to me you'd never let it die_

"You make me feel like an idiot!" Sakura suddenly screamed at Sasuke, but he seemed to not care about that and simply put his foot down. "You won't even look at me or talk to me and when you do, you make me feel like an annoyance, like I'm not important… or… even a person. After everything we've been through or done together, you make me feel like I'm _nothing_!"

_I wanna know, I wanna know!_

_Do you still want me like that?  
Do you still want me like that?  
'Cause it's like you had a change of heart,  
At times like these I wonder!  
Do you still want me like that?_

This time, Sasuke couldn't help but turn fully to glance at Sakura. The tone in her voice had been so sad and hurt, especially near the end of her exclamation. Now, Sakura was leaning back in her seat with her arms wrapped around herself, looking as though she was trying her hardest not to cry. Had his silence really hurt her? Had his actions made her like this?

_The simple things, the secret things,  
Between me and you  
In our own little world  
And what we had  
Where we were  
It was all so unbreakable_

Suddenly, Sakura's eyes widened as something out on the road caught her attention. "Sasuke, look out!"

Sasuke looked back at the road and immediately slammed down hard on his breaks as soon as he spotted the person in the middle of the road, his car spinning and tyres screaming loudly in protest. When it felt like forever had passed, the car finally stopped moving, but neither Sakura nor Sasuke dared to move, waiting for the other to make a noise or move first.

_Do you still want me like that?  
Do you still want me like that?  
Do you remember when we fell in love?  
Back in the day we couldn't get enough!_

_And just want me like that!  
Do you remember when we fell in love?  
And just want me like that!  
Do you remember when we fell in love?_

'_Cause it's like you had a change of heart!  
At times like these I wonder.  
Do you still want me like that?_

_Do you still want me like that?_

Finally, Sasuke moved and switched the radio off before turning to look at Sakura. "Sakura are–"

"Are you okay?" Sakura interrupted him as she sat up straighter, becoming more alert.

Ignoring her for a moment, Sasuke looked in one of the side mirrors before looking up at the rear view mirror. It seemed Sakura finally remembered the man who had been in the middle of the road as she also started glancing in the mirrors, but the moment Sasuke moved to unbuckle his seatbelt and get out, she quickly grabbed his wrist, stopping his movement.

"Don't go out there." She all but begged, looking up at him with worried eyes.

"Sakura, I almost hit that guy. I have to see if he's okay."

"Look at him!" Sakura yelled, gesturing over the seats and towards the man who was simply standing there, staring at the car. He was too far to see any features and he had his hood up, but there was something about the man that scared Sakura and had shivers running up and down her spine. "He's creepy. Please Sasuke, please? Can we just go? _Please_?"

His frown only deepened at the sight of Sakura getting worked up, getting more hysterical by the moment. Her breathing was beginning to quicken, her hold on his wrist was tightening and Sasuke wasn't too sure, but he could have sworn that Sakura was fighting back her tears. With a sigh, he looked over the seats once again, seeing that the man was starting to walk towards them and as he got closer, Sakura became more and more hysterical, practically begging him to start driving.

"He's fine! Can we go now?"

There was only a moment's pause before he nodded and put his foot down on the accelerator, both thankful when the car instantly responded and moved forward. What confused him was how both he and Sakura could just leave the man without a second thought, especially her. Sakura had always been one to push aside personal feelings and help someone if they truly needed it, if they deserved it. As for him, whilst he wasn't a particularly friendly person, Sasuke always helped out when somebody needed help.

Just as Sasuke went to switch the radio back on for a need to fill the tense silence, Sakura caught his wrist once again. "Just… leave it off."

Sakura's heart was in her throat as she finally released Sasuke's wrist, watching out of the corner of her eye as he pulled his hand back to the steering wheel. It was taking everything in her not to allow her body to start trembling, but it seemed Sasuke could sense her distress since he kept glancing at her. It was because of this that Sakura kept her head turned to the side, watching lazily as cars and people passed them.

It wasn't until there were barely any cars passing them anymore that Sakura realised they were a couple of minutes from home. At the thought of getting in, relaxing in a hot bath and probably taking a nap, Sakura sighed. Perhaps she just needed some relaxation and rest.

Once they had pulled up outside of her house, Sakura bit her lip before turning around to face Sasuke. "Sasuke, I–"

Before she could finish her sentence, however, Sasuke's lips were on hers. He didn't know what had possessed him to suddenly kiss her like he was, but in a way, Sasuke was glad that he did it as it occurred to him that he had really missed feeling her lips against his. Sakura immediately relaxed against him, kissing him back and pulling him closer with the hand that was fisted in the back of his hair. She couldn't believe what was happening! However instead of ruining the moment, Sakura tilted her head to the side ever so slightly as her lips moved against his and she couldn't help but shiver as his strong hand ran up her thigh, coming to a stop on her hip and squeezing lightly.

"I missed you," Sakura whispered against his lips as they parted for air, "_so_ much."

Her hand released his hair, but instead of pulling away, it trailed towards his face with her thumb stroking his cheek gently. There was a short moment of hesitation as Sasuke went to once again press his lips to hers and during his hesitation, it seemed something snapped into him as he immediately pulled away and sat back in his seat, refusing to even look at her. Seeing this, Sakura's eyes filled with tears. Was he just messing with her? Was he just trying to hurt her?

Without saying a word, Sakura got out of his car, slamming the door shut with unnecessary force before she entered her house and did the same with the front door. Her mother was pacing in the living room and hearing the noise, she ran out into the hallway, only to pause at the angry tears in Sakura's eyes and the hurt expression on her face.

"Sakura, what's the matter?" Mebuki asked quietly even though she already had an idea as to what happened. She did have windows, after all.

Sakura didn't even look up at her mother as she walked passed her, heading straight for the stairs and all but running to her room. Not even having the strength to undress, Sakura dived onto her bed, her body shaking with anger and frustration and sadness. The tears she had been trying so hard to hold back were suddenly pouring from her eyes and she seemed to have no control over them, no matter how hard Sakura tried to make them stop.

Why would he kiss her like that? Why would he kiss her at all if he didn't have feelings for her? What happened between them, yes, she had been in love with him (still _was_ in love with him) but not once during their year together had Sasuke ever told Sakura that he loved her. Not once had he ever showed that he may have had feelings for her that weren't just friendship and lust. So why would he just suddenly kiss her after treating her so coldly?

It felt like her heart was aching as Sakura curled up into a ball, her body shaking with her sobs.

Sasuke knew that she loved him and that she still does, so why would he do something like that? Was he just trying to hurt her? The kiss between them had felt so real though and it was hurting her head just thinking about the motive behind his actions. At times like these, Sakura would have gone to Ino and asked her what his actions meant, but had always made sure to not mention Sasuke's name (since Ino was apparently in love with him too). The blonde would have given her advice without a second thought and though she always enjoyed spreading, creating and hearing gossip, Ino had never told one of Sakura's secrets. Well, before Sakura left she hadn't.

Gripping a tight hold of her pillow and pressing it against her face, Sakura screamed.

She felt like she needed to hit something, to lash out and destroy something. There had been many occasions where she had felt this way and previously, Sakura would have acted on her urges without question, especially if someone who deserved it was in front of her.

* * *

"_Did you hear?" _

"_No, what are you talking about?"_

"_You didn't hear about Haruno Sakura? Apparently last Friday at Uchiha Sasuke's party, she was seen going into one of the bedrooms with some guy and they didn't leave for the rest of the night."_

"_Are you being serious? What a slut!"_

"_She's a loud slut, too__,__ from what I've heard."_

_Sakura paused in her place beside Naruto, Ino and Sasuke, the three watching her with wide eyes as they also heard the latest gossip. Of course, as her eyes connected with Sasuke's, he already knew it was true since _he_ was the unknown guy they were talking about and it had been _his_ room they went into._

"_Sakura," Naruto said slowly, knowing the look in her eyes even though she wouldn't look at him, "come on, they're not worth it."_

_Ino caught his hand just as he went to grab Sakura and with a shake of her head, she said, "Don't, Naruto. Let her put the bitch in her place."_

_That was all Sakura needed as she suddenly turned around and slammed one of the girls into the lockers, a loud bang silencing everyone on the corridor. There was a startled squawk from the brown haired girl who was against the lockers, a girl that Sakura didn't even know, but that didn't stop her from slamming her fist into the girl's face._

"_You want to watch who you're spreading shit about!" Sakura spat angrily as she brought the girl's face closer to her own before smashing __it__ against her knee._

_The girl who had been talking about her was beautiful and had long brown hair with blue eyes, but Sakura barely even registered that fact as she continued to beat the girl, not even realising how far she'd gone until she was being pulled away by Sasuke and Naruto._

"_What the hell has gotten into you?" Sasuke hissed low in her ear._

_However, instead of feeling guilty, Sakura merely looked down at the now crying girl __impassively __as she was helped up by her shocked friends. It looked as though she was barely even conscious as she staggered to her feet, gripping a tight hold of her friends and sobbing when the pain she could feel flared. Just as quietly, Sakura mumbled in return, "I felt like destroying something__."_

* * *

As she remembered that day, Sakura's tears fell harder.

Since returning to Konoha High, Sakura had only ever seen that girl she had beaten once and a day later, the girl transferred to another school.

There were so many things that Sakura regretted and surprisingly, that wasn't one of the biggest.

Did that make her a monster?

* * *

**A/N - I'm still feeling sick, so I decided to post another chapter for you all since you seem to enjoy me updating ;-)  
**

**I saw the most stupid thing ever on my Facebook homepage this morning and it proper annoyed me for some reason. No, actually, I saw two things. The first was a video of two stupid looking guys, with a stupid looking saxophone, following around a man who was minding his own business and doing his shopping, when they started playing some sort of music. They captioned the video as 'following fat people around'. The word 'fat' really pisses me off. My little sister is overweight and it really gets to her when she sees things like that, when people comment on her weight. I'm not overweight, so I can't say that I know how it feels, but I know that I wanted to shove that saxophone up the guy's ass.**

**The second thing I saw was some guy called Nash or whatever. Somebody shared his status saying that when a girl is on her period, you should do a bunch of stuff for her and one of the things said to 'rub her stomach'. No. If you rub my stomach when I'm on _my_ period, I will punch you in the face. Doesn't he understand how much that shit hurts? When I'm on my stomach swells and I can barely even move. It frigging kills.**

**Anyways, enough about stuff like that. Rant over.**

**I might start updating two or three times a week since the response to this is amazing! Eight chapters and I already have over seventy reviews. I know others get hundreds and whatever, but one of my other stories got like seventy chapters for the whole thing. I don't care, though, because I am really grateful for those who review and point out my mistakes, what I could improve on and what they like about it. It genuinely makes my day.**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	10. We're Just Friends

**Chapter 10 – We're Just Friends**

It had been two days since her kiss with Sasuke and whilst she shouldn't have been surprised by his silence, the fact that he hadn't come to see her or at least called her, hurt.

Was he simply messing with her? Was he trying to hurt her in some kind of revenge for hurting him? She had never meant for anybody to get hurt because of her actions or the way she acted! The sad thing was, was that Sasuke _was_ the type of guy who really would do anything to get revenge. Sakura could recall a time back when they were children where he had beaten the crap out of someone and said that it was revenge. When she asked what for, Sasuke never gave her an answer. Even to this day, she still didn't know.

Resting her head against the headrest of her car seat, Sakura looked out of the window lazily. Once again, it was Monday morning and just like every other morning, her mother was driving her to school like she was a child. Instead of getting annoyed, however, Sakura simply took a deep breath before slowly releasing it.

"How are you feeling?"

Tilting her head to the side, Sakura regarded her mother with a tired look, "Exhausted."

Mebuki frowned as she glanced at Sakura, not for the first time noticing the dark circles under eyes and the paler shade to her usual pale skin tone. It was hurting her seeing her daughter look so tired and it hurt even more knowing that it wasn't only physically that she was exhausted. Taking one hand off of the steering wheel, Mebuki placed it onto Sakura's knee and gave a comforting squeeze. "It's going to be okay, Sakura."

She looked back out of the window and let out a sigh. "How do you know that?"

Placing her hand back onto the steering wheel, Mebuki also sighed as she tried to think of a way to comfort Sakura, since actions were doing no good. "Honestly," Mebuki spoke slowly, uncertainly, "I don't. But you just have to take one day at a time and keep your head held high."

The rest of the drive was silent besides the radio, but it was so low that it wasn't even considered background music since Sakura hadn't been in the mood to listen to anything. Her mother's words kept playing around in her mind, telling her to just take one day at a time, but that was easier said than done. How was she supposed to deal with the nasty rumours, the name–calling and the stares that made her feel nothing more than an inch tall?

All of the treatment she was receiving made her feel like she was twelve years old again or like she had just started high school again, back when she had been bullied every day for many different reasons. The first was because of her unusually large forehead (which she had thankfully grown into now), the second because she was always top of the class and the third was because of her friendship with Sasuke. The only reason they had stopped bullying her was because somebody had stood up for her, literally _making_ the bullies all back off. Remembering who it had been, a small smile graced her lips. The boy, no, he was a _man_ now, had always been like an older brother to her, had always been there when she needed him.

Looking back at her mother, Sakura took a deep breath before asking, "Have you heard from Itachi lately?"

Mebuki raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by her question, but otherwise did nothing to show her surprise. It was a couple of seconds before she answered and when she did, it brought a smile to Sakura's lips. "I have. He's doing fine and is _very_ well respected now in the business."

"That's good." Sakura smiled more genuinely. "I know taking control of the company wasn't what he really wanted to do with his life, but it's nice to know that he's doing a good job."

"Oh, he's doing better than a good job." Mebuki smirked as she parked the car. "Itachi's known as one of the most powerful men in the world, now. You should see them all, Sakura. They actually bow to him!" She chuckled softly. "His face the first time it happened had been rather amusing, but he managed to control his expression before he gave away his shock. I'm so proud of him and I know his mother would be, too."

Glancing out of the window, Sakura's eyes widened and a bright smile graced her lips. "That's great, mom!" She told her before quickly kissing her mother's cheek, surprising the older woman. "I've got to go, so I'll see you after school."

Mebuki couldn't even get a word out as Sakura dashed out of the car and ran over to the boy who had grabbed her attention. Seeing who it was, she couldn't help but smile softly. At first, Mebuki hadn't been too sure about Sakura being friends with a boy like him, a boy who was tattooed, looked as though he was wearing eyeliner, and rough looking, but she could see that it made Sakura happy and at the end of the day, that was all that really mattered to her.

The smile on Sakura's face was almost alarming, Gaara thought as the girl came barrelling over to him and he wondered why she looked so happy to see him, since nobody had ever looked at him in such a way before. Gaara even had to refrain from looking behind him to make sure she wasn't smiling at somebody behind him. But when he realised that it was _him_ she was smiling at, he came to a stop and waited for her to reach him.

"Gaara," She grinned.

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Why are you so happy?"

This time, she laughed, making his eyes narrow further. Had he said something funny? "I'm happy to see you. That's why! Don't tell me you're not happy to see me?"

At her fake wounded look, Gaara rolled his eyes and started walking again. "Not particularly."

If she was bothered by his words, Sakura didn't show it as she walked by his side, still smiling. She tried many times to grab his attention and get him to converse with her, but nothing worked. After her seventh failed attempt, Sakura told him, "I was a princess this weekend."

That got his attention as he looked down at her as though she was crazy. "_You_ were a princess?"

"You don't have to say it like _that_." Sakura grumbled before smiling softly. "I met a little girl and she called me 'Princess Sakura'."

"Hn."

A sly smirk played along her lips as she looked up at him. "I think _you _should start calling me by that name."

Again, he looked down at her as though she had lost her mind before narrowing his eyes and shaking his head. "I'm not calling you 'Princess Sakura'."

"Why?" Sakura whined as they came to a stop beside her locker.

Her locker door had been replaced since the whole 'slut' and 'who the fuck cares' incident. It had taken a few days, maybe even a week, to have it done but they eventually did it. The janitor had told her that he tried his best to wash it off, but nothing would work and they had to wait for a new door to arrive. Bless the old man, Sakura thought as she unlocked the locker and grabbed her books. It was the same janitor who had been in charge of their detention and he was really nice to her.

"It's foolish."

"Foolish?" She repeated, closing her locker door and turning to look at him with narrowed eyes. "Having an imagination isn't foolish!"

It was if it worked against you, Gaara thought as they continued walking towards class. Lately, his imagination had _really_ been working against him and making him think of things he didn't want to do, with people he sure as hell didn't want to do them with. The worst part about it was that the person who starred in his dreams, fantasies and imaginations was walking beside him, once again smiling and treating him like he was a person.

Not many people treated him in such a way and Gaara was still wary about his friendship with Sakura. Actually, nobody but Sakura treated him that way! His own siblings feared him, his father detested him and everybody else treated him like a punching bag. Well, if they were foolish enough they _tried_ to use him as a punching bag.

When Sakura fell silent, Gaara looked down at her, wondering what could have suddenly ripped the smile from her face and stopped her inane chatter. Following her line of sight, he saw none other than Uchiha Sasuke at his locker with two girls practically drooling over him. The Uchiha didn't even seem to notice the two girls but when he looked up and his eyes connected with Sakura's, Sasuke quickly looked away and smirked at the two girls beside him, making them both swoon.

Sakura came to a stop and when she did, Gaara also stopped. "I–I'm sorry, Gaara, I need–"

"No, you don't." He told her in a low voice, standing in front of her and blocking her view of Sasuke, who he could feel _glaring_ at him. "Stop acting so pathetic and weak." She looked down at the ground with a frown settled on her features and in response Gaara grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, startling Sakura since he was never one to touch somebody. "_Stop acting weak_. That's what he wants."

A small smile graced her lips. "You're right."

"I always am."

As he removed his hand, Sakura shook her head and couldn't help but laugh as they continued on their way, both ignoring a certain Uchiha that was glaring at them both.

* * *

"Mind if I join you for lunch?"

At her question, Gaara looked up from his work and at her, before looking at Kakashi, who was at her other side, looking equally as surprised. "Why?"

She shrugged and wrote a couple of notes before answering, "Do I have to have a reason?"

_Yes_, he wanted to tell her, _yes you do_. Instead Gaara once again looked at Kakashi. "What about you?"

Kakashi just shook his head. "Sakura wants to try lunch without me today and decided she'd rather spend her lunch hour with you."

Again, all he could ask was, "Why?"

Gaara felt foolish that he couldn't say anything else, but no matter how hard he tried, it seemed that was the only word that could pass his lips. Never and he meant _never_ had anybody ever joined him for lunch before, not even his own siblings. Sometimes it was because they were busy whilst other times it was because Gaara refused to have them eat with him. So to have Sakura ask him if she can join him for lunch was just… different and strange.

"I don't eat in the cafeteria." He told her, his eyes going back to his work.

"Yeah, I kind of gathered that since I never see you there." Sakura smirked before sighing. "If you don't agree, I'm just going to follow you around and annoy you."

Looking up at her once again, Gaara narrowed his eyes, "The rooftop."

The smile that lit up her face made him blink a little uncertainly. "I had a feeling it would be there. I'll need to buy my lunch before I meet you up there." She paused for a moment before narrowing her eyes at him. "You better not stand me up, Gaara or–"

"Or what?" He challenged.

Kakashi was stunned into silence at the sight of the two challenging one another and instead of feeling wary, he felt… surprised. Like Sakura had said not too long ago, it was obvious that Gaara would never harm her and it made him think. Had he misjudged Gaara? Or was it simply because the boy didn't relish the thought of hitting a girl? Kakashi seriously hoped that it was the latter, since it was kind of in his job description _not_ to misjudge or making judgements on those he helped.

"Like I'd tell you!" Sakura smirked. "If I tell you, you'd know what to expect. If I don't, then you're going to be looking over your shoulder, wondering when I'm going to attack and how."

Gaara looked amused as he looked at Sakura. "_You're_ going to attack _me_?"

Her smirk only grew. "Are you going to stand me up?"

There was a short pause before he answered. "No."

"Then it's a date!"

"It's not a date."

"Say what you want, Gaara," Sakura smirked as she gathered her things once the bell rang, "but _I'm_ calling it a date!"

* * *

He was silent again and tensing whenever he heard her voice. It was like what had happened over the weekend had undone any progress they may have made. Damn… she would rather have Sasuke as a friend than not at all! Why was he suddenly treating her so coldly?

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Looking up at Kakashi, who was looking down at her with a raised brow, Sakura frowned. "What?"

"Are you sure that you know what you're doing with Gaara?"

Once again, the person in front of her tensed and Sakura suddenly had the urge to hit him with her textbook. It would hurt, no doubt, since it was quite thick and heavy but that was the point wasn't it? Perhaps it would even knock some sense into him. For a moment, she entertained the thought of actually hitting Sasuke before sighing and looking back at Kakashi. "We're friends, Kakashi. Friends eat lunch together and hang out."

He nodded once, seeming to find her answer acceptable and like with Sasuke, Sakura had the urge to hit him, too. However, she respected Kakashi way too much to ever hit him. In a way, he was kind of like a father figure to her, though she wouldn't tell _him_ that.

"Split into your groups."

The words had Sakura's entire body tensing as she remembered that it was Monday, the day when they worked in their assigned groups for the project. Noticing her reaction, Kakashi inwardly frowned, but when Sasuke stood up and moved to take Hinata's place as she moved to sit by Kiba, he saw that Sasuke was just as tense and uncomfortable as she was. The way Sakura was practically sitting on his lap and the way Sasuke made sure to sit as far as his chair would allow, Kakashi concluded that something must have happened between them.

As he looked away from the two, however, his eyes caught Kurenai's, who gave a slight tip of her head towards the door and seeing the annoyed, yet concerned look in her eyes, Kakashi's mental frown only deepened. When he stood, Sakura shot him a panicked look, but he simply smiled and told her he needed to speak with Kurenai. There was a knowing, dark look that suddenly flooded her features, one that told him he had been found out. Sighing, he left the room with Kurenai, not entirely ready to be chewed out for his obvious error.

"Sakura–"

"We need to talk." Sakura felt like slapping herself as she interrupted him, earning herself a look of annoyance, but when he nodded once, silently telling her to continue, she did. "Look, Sasuke, whatever you feel towards me… whatever the hell that was on Saturday… we need to talk about it." When Sasuke looked away from her, obviously shutting her out, Sakura glared at him. "_Stop it_! I'm sick of you making me feel like I'm worthless, making me feel like I'm not even a person. So just… _stop_ _it_."

Sasuke looked back at her, noticing that her features were hard as she continued to glare at him. He had witnessed her anger many times, but never had she ever been truly angry at him. Never before had she ever looked at him with such anger.

"If you don't feel that way for me anymore," Sakura continued, fighting the urge to punch him whilst also trying to fight the urge to kiss him, "then tell me. Don't try making me jealous like you did this morning with those two," She paused for a brief second, taking a deep breath to calm herself, "_girls_."

It was obvious Sakura wanted to call them something different, something more offensive.

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke retorted, "Like you were trying to make me jealous with that guy?"

She looked at him blankly, trying to think of who he could mean before suddenly understanding. "You mean Gaara? I wasn't trying to make you jealous! Gaara was _helping_ me." At his disbelieving look, Sakura groaned with annoyance. "Seeing you with those two girls annoyed me, Sasuke. And honestly, I was kind of hoping to avoid you after what happened on Saturday. Do you have_ any idea _how low your actions made me feel?" When he didn't reply, Sakura sighed. "I was going to turn around and go down a different hallway just so I didn't have to look at you with those girls, but he stopped me."

For a moment, Sasuke seemed unsure before he finally asked, "So you're not with Gaara?"

Shaking her head, Sakura gave him a small smile. "We're just friends."

* * *

They ate in silence, it wasn't completely uncomfortable, but it was a little awkward.

Gaara didn't seem to know how to act around her all of a sudden and Sakura wondered if perhaps she was invading his personal space or pushing too hard. He was shutting her out, she realised and not only did she realise that, but Sakura also realised that it hurt. It was because here, at Konoha High, Gaara was one of very few who actually spoke to her. There were only two other people here who spoke to her during school hours and that was Sai and Hinata and she rarely ever spoke to them! Sasuke wasn't included in that because he always seemed reluctant to speak to her, like he was being forced to. Also, except from English, he completely avoided her.

"So…" Sakura said a little awkwardly as she finished her sandwich. "How's your day been so far?"

He was silent for a couple of seconds, like he was trying to think of the right way to answer her before he finally spoke, giving her a cold stare, "Aggravating."

Chuckling rather sheepishly, Sakura took a swig of her water, putting the lid back on the bottle when she was done. "Yeah, I kind of know _that_ feeling. I've been getting this urge to just… _hit_… everyone."

This seemed to amuse Gaara as he smirked at her, the smirk making her heart flutter. "Welcome to my world."

Why was her heart beating faster to his smirk? Yes, Gaara was pretty attractive if you liked the whole grunge, bad boy look, but still… he was Gaara. He was her friend! Nothing would ever happen between them and not only because her heart belonged to Sasuke, but also because Sakura was sure that Gaara would not want to be romantically involved with her.

"You want to hit people, too?"

Again, his amusement grew. "All of the time."

Biting her lip, Sakura hesitantly asked, "Do you want to hit me?"

To this, he actually _chuckled_. It was a low throaty sound that made her smile. "I do most of the time."

For some reason, this made her smile brighten. "I want to hit you sometimes, too!"

Again, Gaara chuckled and Sakura couldn't help but laugh. It seemed Gaara was in a very good mood today and in response, she also felt her mood improve. If Gaara, the guy who rarely ever smiled, let alone _laughed_, seemed so… comfortable, then why shouldn't she?

* * *

**A/N - Not too sure about this chapter. I think when I wrote it (which was a couple of weeks, possibly even a month ago), I might have been struggling with writer's block or whatever.  
**

**Thank you to the people who wished for me to get better soon!**

**After this chapter or the next, Sakura's past will slowly start coming out, so I hope you all stick around to find out what's up with her and what happened!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	11. Breaking The Routine

**C****hapter 11 – ****Breaking The Routine**

Have you ever thought about how many people think about you? It's kind of bizarre when you really think about it. Imagine someone, anyone, out of the blue, thinking of your face. Say something happens and because of this, they remember you. They remember your favourite song, how you dress, the way you talk, the look in your eyes when you are genuinely happy or angry. They remember you, even if you haven't seen or spoken to each other in years. Everything in life is a reminder of a person, a place, a moment. You may think that you have been forgotten, but you haven't. Not for a single moment.

That was the thought that kept running through Sakura's mind as her mother picked her up from school and she couldn't help but cringe every time it did because of how so many people would probably remember her.

It was Wednesday, so Sasuke would be coming over to her house after his after school practise. Nothing exciting happened since Monday except from Sakura now ate her lunch with Gaara on top of the school roof. Kakashi still stayed with her during classes, as she wasn't too sure she was ready for him to leave her around quite so many people just yet, and he didn't complain about it. Also, Sakura now took lunches to school to avoid the cafeteria at lunch.

On Monday, it had become apparent to her that Sakura disliked large crowds. Whereas before she had rather enjoyed having everyone's attention on her, now it just felt like they were all staring, that they were all judging. It helped having somebody by her side, _on_ her side. In fact it made the loneliness ease up, even if it was only by a little amount.

"Mom," She didn't look away from the window as she spoke, but she knew immediately when she had Mebuki's attention. "Can I have my car back soon?" When there was no answer, Sakura looked up and rolled her eyes at the frown on her mother's face. "I feel like you don't even trust me."

Mebuki's hands tightened on the steering wheel as a pained look flitted across her features. "I'm just worried about you, Sakura. I don't want a repeat of–"

"That won't happen again!" Sakura interrupted her mother with a harsh glare before taking a deep, calming breath. "Look, mom, I'm tired of being taken everywhere like I'm a child again. It's annoying and embarrassing."

She didn't take offence to the 'embarrassing' comment, for Mebuki could kind of understand how Sakura was feeling about that part. During her pregnancy, Kazashi hadn't allowed her to do anything that could possibly harm their daughter, including driving. She could still remember how it felt as an independent and proud woman such as herself was forced to rely on others. It had been agonizing and at one point, Mebuki had hated Kazashi for his overprotectiveness. Now though, she could understand why he did it. Taking a deep breath, she looked down at her daughter before looking back at the road. "How about we wait until the New Year? It's November now, so you don't have to wait all that long. Besides, you will need to retake your test."

Damn. Sakura hadn't been aware that she would have to retake her test. She had barely passed it the first time! Maybe she _should_ wait until New Year because that way, she would have time to study. "On one condition," Sakura smiled and when Mebuki glanced at her with a curious expression, her smile grew, "the car I want is a Volvo C30."

"That's an old car though, isn't it?"

Shrugging, Sakura looked back out of the window. "I still want it."

* * *

She and Sasuke were sat on her bedroom floor once again, but it seemed different this time. Her mother had trusted them enough to actually go back to work for a couple of hours and not only that, but Sasuke was acting differently. It was putting her on edge, if Sakura was completely honest. She preferred routine and knowing what was going to happen.

And then, Sakura felt her hair being brushed off of her shoulder before lips were being pressed there. It annoyed her how quickly her body responded to his touches, how just a simple kiss was making a familiar heat pool in her stomach.

"Don't, Sasuke." Sakura said softly and pulled away.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Why? I thought you wanted this."

Shaking her head ever so slightly, Sakura looked down at their textbooks and started to read but Sasuke quickly covered it with his hand. With a sigh, she looked up at him and said, "I don't want to do anything when I know that you'll be doing the same with another girl by the weekend."

He rolled his eyes before leaning forward and pressing his lips to her shoulder again and between soft kisses, he spoke. "Sakura," After another kiss that brought him closer to her neck, Sasuke continued, "I haven't done anything with another girl since the moment I was with you."

Sakura's eyes widened as she gently lifted his head and stared him in the eyes. Was he telling the truth? Had he really not been with another girl since they had started seeing each other nearly two years ago, or when she had left nearly a whole year ago? Sakura could believe him a little, since he had been a completely different person when they were together and treated her well. But she also couldn't believe him because, well, because he was a guy. She shook the thoughts from her head. No. Not all guys were like that.

"Please tell me that you're telling the truth." Sakura whispered as she closed her eyes. "I won't be able to go through losing you again. You have no idea how hard it was for me."

The answer to her question was a kiss, a kiss that made her breathing shallow and her pulse quicken, especially when Sasuke lowered her onto the floor, quickly climbing on top of her as his hands moved over her body.

"Let's move to the bed." Sakura whispered breathlessly as Sasuke moved his kisses to her neck.

He shook his head. "Too far."

As he cupped her through her underwear and teased her, Sakura could only agree. Her bed was indeed too far and she wanted nothing more for Sasuke to just hurry up and take her, even if it meant having sex on her bedroom floor. Showing him what she wanted, Sakura's hands went straight to the buttons of his pants, unbuttoning them as quickly as she could and pushing them and his underwear down just far enough to free him.

Leaning back on his knees, Sasuke pushed her skirt up and her underwear down, lifting her hips off of the ground and aligning them with his. However, he paused right at the last moment. "Are you still on the pill?"

She nodded, her eyes dark and clouded with lust as she told him, "Of course." It wasn't like she had started taking it because she was having sex!

That was all Sasuke needed and hearing her words, he entered her with one hard thrust, making Sakura's eyes roll as she lifted her hands over her head and tried to find something, _anything_, to hold onto. He was by no means gentle as he took her, making the sound of flesh smacking flesh fill the room as well as her moans. It was as though Sasuke was putting all of his anger at her leaving, his sadness, his pain, into his thrusts.

She took it all without complaint. In fact, if Sasuke was thinking clearly, he would have been surprised that she did. Sakura's nails dug into the floor, yet not hard enough to leave marks in the wood, as she let him take his frustrations out on her. There wasn't a single thought in her mind as she felt heat coiling inside of her, as she felt her mind drift from her body.

His hold on her was almost painful as Sasuke gripped her hips and pounded into her, causing Sakura's body to jerk as he did. Part of him was telling him, warning him, to ease up, to be more gentle with her, but he couldn't find it in himself to do so. Sasuke wanted her to see what her leaving had done to him without actually saying the words and like every other time they had been together, Sasuke felt his male pride soar as he heard her cries rise in pitch, as he felt her clamp down on him as she reached orgasm.

He didn't even notice that her eyes held a faraway look, one that would have told him that despite being there physically, she was most definitely not there mentally.

* * *

**A/N - Probably not what you all would have expected, since I said you would be seeing more of her past, but I also said that it would be slowly building or whatever.  
**

**I did have more to say, but I just got an alert that the latest Naruto chapter is out and I _need_ to go and read it! I may be nice and update again either tonight or tomorrow.**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	12. The Destroyed Friendship

**Chapter 12 – The Destroyed Friendship**

Thunderstorms had always been something Sakura hated. She hated the loud, booming crack of thunder, the way the lightning would flash and light up the room almost scarily. Every time the latter happened, her eyes and mind would play tricks on her and Sakura would be certain that she could see somebody standing in the corner of her room, silently watching her and waiting for their moment to attack. Previously, she would have blamed that on watching too many horror films, but now Sakura wasn't so sure.

As well as that, there was also another reason why she hated thunderstorms. It was during a thunderstorm that her friendship with Naruto had started to fall apart, it was during a thunderstorm that she did something she shouldn't have.

Sakura sat next to her mother on the sofa and looked up at the television. However, instead of seeing the movie she and Mebuki were about to watch, Sakura was seeing something much different.

* * *

_Sakura turned up the television to tune out the loud rain and thunder._

_She had never enjoyed thunderstorms – they always made her nervous and uneasy. So, like every other time there was a thunderstorm, she invited her best friend over. For some strange reason that she couldn't even begin to understand, Naruto actually _enjoyed_ the storms, especially the loud thunder. Because of this, she felt safer with him around. If he wasn't freaking out like she was, then he would be able to keep her safe._

"_You never change," Naruto chuckled as Sakura sat back against the sofa._

_Casting him a glance out of the corner of her eye, Sakura lifted her legs onto the sofa and folded them by her side. "It's not strange to hate thunderstorms." She said for the seventh time that night._

_Naruto grinned, his blue eyes shining even though the only light in the room was from the television. "And it's not strange _not_ to hate them either."_

_Sakura rolled her eyes and __rested__ her head on his shoulder, turning back to the movie. As she did, Naruto fixed the blanket around them and got comfortable, his arm holding her to him almost lazily._

_She and Naruto had always been close. If there was ever a problem, Naruto was always there to help her with it. It was as though he knew everything about her – but not in a creepy way. Whenever she needed someone, he was always there, no matter what. As Sakura thought more about that, a question settled in her mind. Why had she never tried to make a go of things with this boy? He cared for her, she cared for him. They had known each other since forever and knew everything about one another. What could go wrong?_

"_Naruto," Sakura spoke quietly._

_Noticing the change in her body language and voice, Naruto looked down at Sakura__ with his concern obvious on his features__. "Is something wrong, Sakura__–__chan?"_

_Eyebrows furrowed as though she was in deep thought, Sakura pulled out of Naruto's hold but just as he was about to say something, she started to move closer to him. The blond swallowed hard at the determined look in her eye as she stared at his lips. There was no hesitation as Sakura leaned her head forward, her lips ghosting o__ver__ his and making his heart beat impossibly fast before finally closing the distance._

_His heart had all but stopped as Sakura kissed him. He couldn't believe what was happening – Sakura, the girl he had been in love with for years, was _kissing_ him! _She_ was kissing _him! _What was he supposed to do? Naruto yelled at himself in his mind, telling himself to calm down before he ended up ruining his chance and making himself look like an idiot._

_Just as Sakura was about to pull away because he wasn't kissing her back, Naruto cupped her face gently and returned her kiss. Her sigh seemed to boost his confidence as Naruto slowly licked her lower lip, asking for entry. Sakura smiled into their kiss and opened her mouth as she welcomed his tongue into her mouth with her own._

_After what seemed like only a couple of minutes but was in fact an hour or so, Naruto started to gently push Sakura backwards and her breathing grew shallow as she led down against the sofa with him on top of her. _

_Their kisses became more heated as Sakura started to pull at the hem of his shirt and in response Naruto gave a small smirk before he lifted his arms, allowing her to take it off. Once it was thrown somewhere in the room, Sakura's hands traced every line and every muscle on his upper torso until eventually, her hands were gripping his shoulders and in his hair as he moved his kisses to her neck, as his own hands stroked her sides lovingly._

_His entire body trembled __the moment__ he heard Sakura moan. How long had he wanted something like this? How long had he been in love with this girl? Naruto would say that he wouldn't mind waiting a bit longer for her, but now that they had started, it was like he couldn't stop. It was like Sakura was a drug to him, a dangerous, highly addictive drug._

_As they started to lose more pieces of clothing, soft sighs turned into gasps and moans. Their skin grew slick with sweat as they continued to touch each other, to kiss, to tease and to play. By now, Sakura's legs were beginning to quiver as Naruto fully lowered himself against her once more. Her cheeks were burning red, but not out of embarrassment. Her stomach repeatedly clenched and her palms were tingling in ways that made it feel as though her entire body was tingling._

_When they became one, Sakura's heart warmed when she realised Naruto was taking it slowly for her. As he continued to place kisses on her face, along her jaw and up and down her neck, he whispered soft words to her. He whispered words filled with so much love, hope and happiness that it almost caused her to burst into tears._

_Then, he started to move. _

_As he moved in and out of her, Naruto held her body close to his body and she also did the same. There was never a moment where they weren't holding onto each other tightly, as though they were almost afraid to let go._

_Once the pain had slowly subsided into pleasure, Sakura met his thrusts with hers. Her nails dug into his back, earning her a groan of pleasure from Naruto before he pressed his lips to hers once again. It was like nothing either of them had ever felt before, which was kind of obvious, considering that before this, they had both been virgins._

"_Sakura__–__chan," Naruto whispered against her lips between kisses, "I love you."_

_It seemed like those three words were all Sakura needed to let go, followed by Naruto as the feeling of her orgasm around him caused him to fall over the edge._

* * *

Everything had changed after that night. It was because of her that her friendship with Naruto had been damaged beyond repair. She could see in his eyes that he wanted more than friendship and that he loved her more than anything, but Sakura just couldn't return those feelings, no matter how hard she tried. Why couldn't she love Naruto? He was the perfect guy for her! Being with him would have been as easy as breathing.

"Sakura, are you okay?"

Looking up at her mother, she saw her staring down at her with concerned eyes. She had every right to be concerned, Sakura thought as she lifted her hand and wiped her cheeks. Sure enough, there were tears there. Whenever Sakura thought of that night with Naruto and just how perfect it had been, it always made her cry. It made her cry because she wanted him to be happy, because she never meant to hurt him with her selfishness.

"I'm fine." Sakura whispered before standing up and clearing her throat. "I'm kind of tired, do you mind if I go to bed?"

Mebuki's expression saddened as she looked at her daughter. She didn't like seeing her in pain and what she hated more than that was that there was nothing she could do about it because it wasn't physically that Sakura was hurting. "That's fine. If you need anything though, just shout for me, okay? Even if you only want to talk, I'm here."

"Okay."

* * *

Looking out at the storm, Naruto sighed before placing his head into his hands.

Ever since that night with Sakura, he hadn't enjoyed thunderstorms as much as he used to. He would still watch them with his mother, since she loved to watch them too, but his heart just wasn't in it anymore.

The morning after they had been together had been awkward. He had told Sakura that he loved her but she didn't say it back. That had to be the thing that hurt him the most. It wasn't the fact that they had had sex – although that was part of the reason – it was the fact that he finally learned she didn't feel the same. He had learned it in the most painful way possible. By giving herself to him, he thought she loved him, that she wanted to give 'them' a try. He thought that that was the reason why. To make things worse, Sakura couldn't even look him in the eye! It took her months to finally look at him and when she did, Naruto almost wished that she hadn't. Sakura looked so broken, so sad and so hurt. It was like she had become a completely different person and it made him question his actions. Had there been a moment during that night that she had said no? Had he been too caught up to realise she didn't want to be with him that way? But there hadn't, so it left him feeling more confused than ever. It hurt him so much when he saw that look in her eyes – it was part of the reason why he couldn't speak to her. It hurt too much and he hated himself.

After an uncomfortable breakfast and Sakura telling him that he didn't need to worry about her getting pregnant and whatnot, he had left due to the tension being too much for him. Naruto already knew that she wouldn't get pregnant – she was on the pill and had been since she was fourteen. It wasn't because she slept around – he was her first time, after all – it was to do with things he'd rather not think about.

"Oi, am I boring you?"

Looking up, Naruto frowned ever so slightly at his mother, who was looking at him with a mixture of anger and concern. They would usually banter with one another, but honestly, he just wasn't in the mood. "Sorry." He mumbled before looking up at the sky just as the thunder once again rumbled loudly, followed by a flash of lightning in the distance. Or was it the other way around? Man. He was so tired that he couldn't even tell!

Kushina placed a hand on her son's shoulder. "Are you thinking about Sakura?" When he simply sighed, she frowned. "I bumped into Mebuki the other day."

"That's nice, I suppose."

"Shut up and let me talk!" Kushina snapped before softening her tone again. "She asked about you, you know, wanted to know how you were doing."

Naruto looked up at his mother. "And what did you say?"

Shrugging, Kushina removed her hand and sat down beside Naruto. "I told her the truth: that you're a miserable idiot because of her daughter." At his frown, Kushina raised an eyebrow, watching her son out of the corner of her eyes. "Want to know what she told me?" Like her, he raised a brow. "Mebuki told me that Sakura has had it _really_ hard this past year, especially in the last couple of months."

He had already known that due to her fight with Ino and the fact that Kakashi was always hanging around her. He knew the older man, but not enough to say that he actually _knew_ him. Kakashi was an old student of his dad's. Minato had told him that Kakashi was brilliant at what he does, that he was a genius, but the moment Naruto told his dad that he was helping Sakura, Minato went silent and refused to discuss Kakashi's job any further. So all Naruto really knew was that he was either a counsellor or – considering Sakura's anger – someone who worked with people who had anger issues. He refused to believe that Kakashi was a psychiatrist. Sakura wasn't crazy, after all.

"Mebuki seemed really upset, Naruto," Kushina's voice was firmer now as she looked at her son seriously, "scared too."

"Scared?" Naruto repeated as he looked back up at Kushina.

The red haired woman nodded. "I know what she did was wrong, but could you at least try to listen to Sakura's apology? Or her version of what happened? For all you know, something serious could have happened to her."

Naruto jumped up out of his place and pointed an accusing finger at his mother. "You know why she left!"

Standing up, Kushina simply raised a brow. "Yes, I do."

"Why?" Naruto demanded.

"I'm not telling you that!" Kushina snapped angrily and seeing that her anger had taken Naruto by surprise, she sighed and softened her tone again. "You know as well as anyone else that I considered Sakura as one of my own and you'll never understand how protective a mother can be of her children, Naruto, especially when…" She paused, taking a deep breath before speaking again, "especially when things like that have happened. She really regrets hurting you, you know, and if you just listen to her, she might tell you!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "If you're trying to guilt me into forgiving her, then it's not working!"

With that, he stormed back into the house, slamming the door shut behind him, missing the single tear that slipped down his mother's cheek.

_Sakura_…

* * *

**A/N - So here's the extra chapter like I promised. I decided to post it since the last chapter was pretty short.**

**By the way, I do not agree with kids having sex! I think it's absolutely disgusting, but you have to keep in mind how hormonal teenagers can be or whatever the hell you want to call it. And just so you all know, Sakura was fifteen (which isn't really that young if you think about it, but still) when she gave her virginity to Naruto. Though, because of the whole school system shit and whatnot, I made him older than her by a couple of months. His birthday is still October 10th, though. It's just that he was born a year earlier than he was supposed to be (so that I could keep him in Sakura and Sasuke's year). So in this story, he's like five or six months older than Sakura instead of being younger than her.  
**

**I can't remember who, but somebody asked me if I ship SasuSaku more than GaaSaku. Honestly, I _adore_ GaaSaku, but don't think that I'm going to make this all about them! This is SasuSaku, too. And to be honest, whenever I try to think of who Sakura will end up with in the anime or manga, I always see her with Sasuke (though I do hope she'll end up with Gaara or Kakashi). So, for now, you will just have to wait and see who she chooses! ;-)**

**Even though none of you probably care, I've got a spot _right in between my fucking eyes_ and _it kills!_ I've tried everything to get rid of it, but it's one of those under the skin ones. Ugh! If anybody has any tips, please tell me them!**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	13. A Friend To Rely On

**Chapter 13 – ****A Friend To Rely On**

Last night had been hard on her since it had been a thunderstorm, so after saying goodnight to her mother she had spent the remainder of the night staring at her ceiling, trying her best to fall asleep but no matter how hard she tried, sleep just would not come to her.

Yesterday, during their study session, Sakura had let Sasuke take his frustrations out on her and not too long after that, he had left. It had made her hurt and her stomach twist and _cry_. She had cried so hard that afterwards, she got a headache that made it almost impossible to move. No, Sasuke hadn't just got up and left. He had kissed her, told her that Itachi would be expecting him home any moment and then left. It wasn't that she didn't believe him, since Sasuke had been over at her house an hour longer than what he usually would be, but it still hurt that he left anyway.

Dragging herself out of bed, Sakura quickly showered, but as she cleaned her body, she paused at the sight of the bruises on her hips and waist. Slowly, almost numbly, she placed her hands over them, noticing that her own fingers were too small to match the bruises. There was no doubt in her mind that they were from Sasuke. Did he mean to be so rough with her? He had never left bruises on her before. Dropping her hands from her hips, Sakura continued her shower before drying and straightening her hair, doing her makeup and getting dressed.

Part of her just wanted to go back to bed, to curl up under her covers and cry. She didn't want to see or speak with anyone, especially her parents. Thankfully, when Sakura entered the kitchen, her breakfast was waiting for her and her mother simply smiled before also going to get ready.

Eating her breakfast was much more difficult than it should have been, especially when each mouthful she took made her want to throw it back up. It took everything in her to actually keep her food down, knowing how important it was that she did.

It seemed like only minutes later that she was in the car, staring out of the window as Mebuki drove her to school. The drive was silent and she could tell it was because her mother could pick up on her mood. Each curious glance sent her way made it feel as though Mebuki could actually see the bruises Sasuke had left on her body. It made her nervous and even slightly disgusted with herself. Would her parents be disappointed if they knew she had allowed Sasuke to use her body in such a way?

Arriving at school, Sakura couldn't even bring herself to look Mebuki in they eye as she got out and muttered a "See you later."

She could feel her mother's eyes on her as she walked into school and Sakura wanted nothing more than to just run into the building, but to do so would give her even more unwanted attention.

Her eyes locked onto onyx as Sakura made her way to her locker and for a moment, she paused, finding it almost hard to breathe as Sasuke stared at her with unreadable eyes. Did he feel bad? It didn't matter because a second later, Sakura turned away and opened her locker, grabbing the books she would need for her first couple of lessons. Just like Mebuki, Sakura could feel Sasuke's eyes on her, but she couldn't bring herself to look back at him, even when she had finished her task and made her way to her first lesson.

Just as she was about to enter her class, red entered her vision and Sakura quickly grabbed his arm, ignored how he tensed and pulled him away from the door so she could speak to him.

"What are you doing?" Gaara demanded, his eyes practically burning a hole into Sakura's hand.

"I–I made a mistake," She whispered to Gaara suddenly, tears slowly filling her eyes although she refused to let them fall, "I made a mistake and I…"

"You don't want to face your parents." He finished for her before continuing. "What makes you think I'll help you?"

The look on her face made his gut twist as she told him, "Because you're my friend and I would do the same for you."

Gaara's eyes narrowed even further. "Let go of me."

Slowly, almost unsurely, Sakura did as he asked, but kept her eyes on his the entire time. "Please, Gaara. I really don't want to face them right now, especially my mom."

He stared at her for a couple of moments, trying to think whether or not he should help her. The pathetic look in her eyes was making his stomach twist, almost making him _want_ to help her. Something bad must have happened to make her act in such a way and Gaara couldn't deny that he wanted to find out what, but could he really invite her over to his house? He had never had a guest before. It was only Kankuro that invited people over and they were mostly one night stands from clubs that he had picked up or the occasional girlfriend.

"You can come over after school." Gaara said a little reluctantly, still eyeing her curiously, suspiciously.

The look of relief in her eyes and on her face as she let out a sigh surprised him. "Thank you, Gaara. I owe you so much for this."

* * *

Gaara had been staring at her all day. Well, the times when they were together he had been. It made her nervous. What could he see when he looked at her? Did he like what he saw, or did it make him nauseous? It sometimes made Sakura nauseous when she looked in the mirror and saw herself. She never liked her reflection anymore. It always felt like somebody she didn't know was looking back at her, a complete stranger.

It wasn't only Gaara who had been staring at her, either. Just about everybody had been. Why? Did she have something on her face? Were her clothes a mess? Or worse, could they see her bruises? Was she walking funny? Oh God she hoped not. Sasuke _had_ been rough with her the night before, after all, and she did ache slightly between her thighs.

"You seem different today." Kakashi commented as they sat down in their usual seats.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Is that why everybody keeps staring at me?"

"Perhaps."

So he had noticed the staring, too? At least it wasn't just her imagination.

Once again, Sasuke was tense as he sat in front of her and beside her, Hinata seemed even more hesitant than usual. The latter didn't surprise her though because like her mother, Hinata seemed to easily pick up on her mood. Instead of saying anything or staring however, she gave Sakura a genuine smile and turned to the front as Kurenai entered the English class to begin their lesson.

"Why? Do I look different or something?"

Kakashi regarded her silently for a moment, seeming to think over his answer before frowning. "It's your eyes. How's your mood?"

This time, Sasuke looked as though he wanted to turn around and look at her himself. He didn't. "I'm fine, Kakashi. I couldn't sleep last night because the thunderstorm kept me up most of the night and I… had a lot on my mind."

"Anything you want to talk about?" He asked curiously, yet she could see the concern in his eyes clearly. "Not here, of course. But we could go to my office if you want."

She was so tempted to take him up on that offer, but Sakura instead shook her head. "No. That's okay, thanks."

"If you change your mind–"

"I'll tell you if I do." She smiled.

* * *

The drive to Gaara's house was almost as silent as the drive to school with Mebuki. Sakura had called her mother at lunch, telling her she would be hanging out with Gaara after school. She had sounded like she didn't want to let her, but in the end, Mebuki had agreed and told her to ring her if there were any problems.

She kept her eyes on the window, staring at the houses, buildings and cars that they passed. It surprised her when Gaara turned a corner and the houses became much larger, looking more like mansions then houses. However, despite her shock, she didn't say anything. Although when they finally parked outside of an almost ridiculously large house, Sakura almost blurted out that it couldn't be his place. She wouldn't have meant it in a bitchy way, she was just genuinely surprised. Gaara had a tattoo on his _forehead_, he wore dark clothing and looked pretty rough, like the sort of person you _really_ do not want to get on the wrong side of. Seeing him walking straight up to a front door that could easily fit three people through at the same time, watching him unlock it and enter the mansion, holding the door open for Sakura, was surprising.

Wait.

He was holding the door open for her? Who could have guessed that he could be such a gentleman!

"Hurry up unless you'd rather stay outside."

Maybe not.

Sakura gave a hesitant smile as she hurried up the steps, following him into the house. When she saw him remove his shoes at the door, she did the same. Her mother used to tell her to take her shoes off all the time, but had eventually stopped when she realised there was no point in doing so, because Mebuki herself often forgot to take them off.

The house was even more beautiful inside, she noticed as she followed Gaara into the living room. It was filled with dark furniture, looking almost like a goth's house and Gaara actually seemed to be right at home. Not only that, but whilst it was dark, it also looked traditional.

For a moment, Gaara looked unsure and was silent before asking, "Do you want a drink?"

"Sure." Sakura smiled, inwardly grinning at the fact Gaara was being _nice_. "…Thanks."

He nodded once before leaving the room and once he had, Sakura walked over to the fireplace, looking at the pictures on it. What surprised her was that Gaara was only in two of them. Did he not like having his picture taken? One of them was back when he was younger, Sakura was guessing he was around two or three when the picture had been taken. The smile on his face was heartbreaking, though. It didn't look all that genuine and he was only a child. As for the second picture, it looked quite recent. Unlike the first, on this picture, he wasn't smiling at all. On both pictures with him stood two others, they were most likely his brother and sister, since they looked around his age. They didn't look alike, though.

"Oi, I know you!"

Sakura looked over her shoulder at the doorway and frowned at the brunet standing there, his eyes narrowed on her. He was the guy on the picture with Gaara! Not liking the way he was looking at her and the fact that she had her back to him, Sakura turned around completely so that she was facing him. "Do you?"

"There aren't many pink haired girls in the city. In fact, I think you're the only one." He replied coldly whilst folding his arms over his chest.

She frowned. Apparently, this guy knew her from somewhere and by the way he was holding himself, speaking to her and looking at her, Sakura was going to guess that she had pissed him off somehow. There was something familiar about him, but that was only his eyes. A part from them, nothing about him reminded her of anyone or came up in her memories. "Uh… do I know you from somewhere?"

It seemed he didn't appreciate her words in the slightest as he took an intimidating step forward, making her take a step back as her eyes widened. She couldn't move any further back without bumping into the fireplace and it made her uneasy. "Don't play games with me! You know who I am. What? Have you come here to play another joke, get me fired again?"

"Wait, what?" Sakura demanded and forced herself to stop giving him more ground. Trying to seem as confident and unshaken as possible, Sakura glared at him and clenched her fists. "I have no idea what you're even talking about! Who are you? And what are you talking about, get you fired _again_? I've never done anything wrong to you!"

"You don't remember?" He seemed shocked for a moment before his eyes narrowed once again. "That's sluts for you, I suppose. They use their bodies to get things they want and don't care about anyone but themselves."

Sakura's eyes widened. "What? I–I…"

This time when his shock returned, it stayed there. "You honestly don't remember?" When Sakura slowly and unsurely shook her head, he frowned. "You came into a shop that I was working in and you were with some blonde who had massive tits. When you tried to buy some vodka, I asked to see your I.D, but you didn't have any," his eyes narrowed once again, "because you're underage. You told me at the time that you were eighteen and that you'd prove it by coming back after–"

She shook her head weakly, eyes filling with tears. "S–stop, I remember now. I–I'm sorry that you got fired."

"Save it." He snapped. It wasn't like he needed the money, but it had been embarrassing that he had lost a bet to his sister. "I don't need a slut's apology, it's meaningless. Just tell me what you're doing here."

"Kankuro," A voice muttered darkly, making shivers run up the man's spine as he quickly turned to the doorway, seeming shocked to find Gaara there. "Is that any way to treat a guest?" By this time, Sakura was trembling as she tried to fight back her tears and seeing this only made Gaara angrier. "What the fuck did you say to Sakura?"

Kankuro's eyes widened even further. "Y–you mean, she's here to see you?"

Rolling his eyes, Gaara walked further into the room so that he was beside Sakura. "I was the one who invited her."

Once Kankuro was over his shock, his eyes narrowed and he looked at Sakura with disgust. "Oi, Gaara, you'll want to watch yourself around her. Girls like _her_ are nothing but trouble. It was because of her that I got fired from that shop last year!"

"It was because of yourself that you were fired." Gaara retorted, not seeming bothered by Kankuro's warning. "If you weren't more concerned about sleeping around, then you wouldn't have been fired." When Kankuro looked as though he was about to start arguing, Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Enough. I've had enough of listening to your annoying voice. It's pissing me off."

And just like that, Kankuro left the room, looking paler than before.

Sakura smiled weakly as she wiped under her eyes. "Y–You'll have to teach me how you do that."

"Do what?"

Looking up at him, her smile turned into a smirk. "Intimidate people without even raising your voice or threatening to use violence."

"It isn't about how loud you are." He told her as they sat down on the sofa, passing her a drink as they did. "It's how you say things and your attitude."

Her smirk widened once she had sipped her drink and placed it onto the coffee table. "Are you saying you have an attitude problem, Gaara–_kun_?"

Like her, Gaara also smirked and Sakura tried to tell herself that it _didn't_ make her heart beat faster. "Definitely."

* * *

**A/N - If you haven't managed to figure it out yet, Kankuro was the guy from the shop in chapter two, the one she tricked into selling her alcohol.  
**

**A few people have been telling me they miss Gaara and I know, I do too! He's adorable and I just want to squeeze his cheeks, though I doubt he'd appreciate that.**

**I'm definitely going to stick to updating quite a few times a week because I've been on a roll lately. I'm not kidding, either! I've already gotten to like, chapter forty, I think. I warned you all that this is going to _looooong_. Or... I might surprise you with the updates and keep you wondering when I'll be updating next. ;-)**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	14. Painful Memories

**Chapter 14 – Painful Memories**

Getting ready for school was a little harder this morning, Sakura concluded as she pulled her dark grey waistcoat over her usual long sleeved, white blouse. It seemed harder to force herself to keep moving and don't even get her started on how long it had taken her to get out of bed. It had taken her mother seven attempts before she had finally all but dragged Sakura out of it. After pulling on a pair of knee high black winter socks, Sakura walked into her closet and slipped on a pair of dark grey boots that also reached her knee. It was much colder now, but at their school, girls never wore pants. Sakura couldn't remember whether or not it was a rule, but she could remember that never had a girl ever worn them, instead choosing knee high socks or tights. The waistcoat she was wearing wasn't to keep warm though, she just liked how it looked with her uniform.

Not bothering with makeup, Sakura quickly brushed and straightened her hair before sluggishly walking downstairs for her breakfast. Like every other morning, it had been waiting for her, but also like every other morning, she had had to force it down. Now, Sakura was sat in the car with her mother on the way to school, trying not to throw it all back up.

Her life felt like routine now, like she knew exactly what to do or what to expect.

It had been two weeks since what had happened between her and Sasuke. During that time, they didn't speak to each other. He didn't come over. She didn't ask him to. Perhaps they just needed some time? Sakura wasn't so sure. In English, when they needed to sit next to each other and discuss what they had done so far, they still didn't speak. They simply got on with the work. She could tell that she had Kakashi worried, but what could she say to him? '_Oh, me and Sasuke had sex. Well, it was more like he seduced me, used my body to take out his frustrations and hasn't spoken to me once in the past two weeks._' No… because it wasn't entirely true, was it? Sasuke hadn't used her at all. She had let him take her. Sakura had wanted so badly to take away all the pain she had caused him…

Sighing almost inaudibly, Sakura made her way to her first lesson. Today, she had English first, since it was Monday. And since it was Monday, it also meant they would be splitting up into their groups. Why did the Gods hate her so much? Hadn't they made her suffer enough with the things they had already thrown at her?

Also, since she had been over at his house, Gaara had been a littler warmer to her. Well, as warm as Gaara could be. He didn't seem against spending time with her anymore. In fact, they met after school two or three times a week, sometimes even at the weekend, and spent the entire day together. They would go watch movies, go to Sakura's favourite café (the one where she met Azuki), or just hang out. Despite his whole 'I hate everyone' attitude, Gaara could actually be quite a nice person. Not that she'd ever say that to _him_.

It was ten minutes after the bell that Kakashi arrived, making her scowl at him for once again being late. In return, he gave her a sheepish smile and tried to use an excuse of him helping some old woman. She knew it was a lie, but couldn't help but laugh at his excuse.

"Still not talking?"

Sakura knew exactly who he was talking to and who about, so simply shook her head.

Kakashi sighed. "Sakura, nothing good will come out of ignoring each other."

"Thanks for your advice, sensei."

Again, he sighed before looking forward, apparently not going to continue his conversation.

She bit her lip. What was the harm in asking one person what she should do? But would Kakashi understand? Or would he tell her she was too young to be getting herself involved with boys like she was or had been? Damn it. Why was it such hard work being a teenager? It wasn't fair. "Kakashi…" He turned his head to the side, regarding her silently. "I think… I think I made a mistake."

"What do you mean?" This time, he turned to face her fully.

It almost made her scream with annoyance when she felt those traitor tears fill her eyes. No matter how hard she tried to push them away, they just kept coming. "I might have made something worse t–than what it already is…"

Out of the corner of her eye, Sasuke was the most tense she had ever seen him before, most likely because he could hear the shake in her voice and what she was saying. At her other side, although Sakura couldn't see her, she knew that Hinata would be hesitating on what she should do. She hoped the Hyuuga would just ignore her and get on with her work.

"What makes you think that?"

She closed her eyes, a single tear slipping down her cheek before she wiped it away almost furiously. "B–because it's _me_. I always make things worse than what they already are." Kakashi frowned, silently telling her to continue, but Sakura quickly looked around before looking back at him. "C–can we go to your office? I… I don't want to talk about t–this here."

It only took one look for him to realise what Sakura was really saying.

_Translation: I'm about to breakdown and I don't want the entire class to see._

Almost instantly, Kakashi was on his feet and grabbing Sakura's things for her. He gave a curt nod to Kurenai before guiding the pink haired teenager out of the class as quickly and as silently as he possible could. Sakura could feel everybody staring at her, just like they did every day, so kept her head down, hoping that her hair kept her face covered. The stare that got to her the most, however, with Sasuke's, but Sakura refused to meet his eyes.

The moment they were outside of the classroom, Sakura was pretty much hyperventilating and seeing this, Kakashi forced her to lean against the wall, placing her things down onto the ground as he did. Her tears were coming much faster now, seeming much more alarming and it worried him. One moment, she had been… not fine, but definitely not like this and then the next, it was almost as though Sakura was having a panic attack.

"It's okay, Sakura." He told in what he hoped was a soothing voice, his eyes glued onto hers even though she was staring at the floor with wide eyes. "Nothing–"

"_Don't_." Sakura whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. "Don't tell me that nothing is wrong. It's a lie and we both know it!"

Trying to keep her calm as she was starting to raise her voice, Kakashi knelt down and packed away her things, not even caring that he looked a little strange slipping a teenage girl's bag over his shoulder. Once he was done, Kakashi stood up straight again, forcing Sakura to look him in the eyes. "Why don't we–"

"No!" She all but screamed at him, leaning further back onto the wall and slapping away his raised hand like it was a venomous snake.

Kakashi frowned. Where was this coming from? Although it didn't hurt, Sakura had never raised a hand against him. It was against school rules for her to do so! That wasn't the part that concerned him, though. It was the look in her eyes, the look that seemed so far away. She wasn't even aware of what she was doing. "Sakura–"

"_Leave me alone_!" Sakura suddenly sobbed, clutching her head and sliding down the wall.

He knew for a fact that everybody had heard _that_.

Kurenai was suddenly popping her head out of the classroom and as the door opened, Kakashi heard the class talking to one another, talking about Sakura. The look on the woman's face was a mixture of shock, wariness and concern. "Kakashi, what's wrong with Sakura?"

Not having any idea how to answer the question, Kakashi simply ignored her and knelt down in front of Sakura. The girl was trembling, her eyes squeezed shut and her head in her hands as she sobbed loudly. What was going on? What had been the cause of this sudden mood swing? Lightly, Kakashi placed his hand on her shoulder, but he immediately let go of her when he felt her entire body tense, as he saw her close in on herself even further.

"Kurenai–sensei, what's–"

"Get back in your seats, all of you!" Kurenai snapped at her class, giving both Sakura and Kakashi a concerned look before entering the room once again, shutting the door behind her and biting her lip with worry.

* * *

_It was almost five in the morning and yet Sakura had only just returned home. She was limping, her body was bruised, cut and bleeding and she had had to all but drag herself home. _

_The lights were all off and her parents' cars were both gone, which told her that they had either left early for work or didn't even come home.__ Unless the cars were in the garage, of course.__ Whatever the reason, Sakura was grateful. She couldn't risk waking them up, not looking like this. They would jump to conclusions; they would judge her and yell at her. Sakura wasn't sure she could handle something like that, not now and maybe not ever._

_When the door was locked and bolted and Sakura had finally made it to her bedroom, not even bothering to switch the light on, her resolve broke and she fell to her knees._

_Her insides shook with each sob as her hands gripped at her ruined dress, all but tearing it from her body, which left her feeling quite surprised that she even had any strength left, since she was feeling so weak. Her eyes continued to pour tears down her cheeks until they stung and burned, until dehydration kicked in, but even when she thought she had done crying, Sakura continued to cry and it felt like she was dying with each tear. Clenching her fists tightly, she slammed them into the wooden floor until her knuckles burned, until they split, cracked and bled. Between her hysterical sobs, she coughed from trying to take deep, pathetic breaths. She screamed her desperation, her pain and her sadness until she couldn't even whisper, until she couldn't even make a sound._

_The pain was too much and it felt like it was killing her.  
_

* * *

Eventually, the trembling eased up slightly and when Sakura slowly released the hold on her hair, lifting her head to look around the hallway, Kakashi sighed with relief, only to tense when Sakura's eyes snapped to his, wide and scared.

"K–Kakashi?"

"Come on, we'll go to my office."

She stood on shaking limbs and hesitantly, Kakashi reached out to help her stand and walk. Thankfully, this time, Sakura didn't flinch away from him, if anything, she seemed grateful and had no problem with leaning on him, with keeping a tight hold of him.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" Kakashi asked as he guided her towards his office.

She was still trembling and had a thin layer of sweat covering her body as she raised a hand to her face, rubbing her eyes. "What happened?"

"What do you remember?"

Once they were inside the office, Kakashi sat her down and opened the window behind the sofa a crack, letting a soft breeze enter the room and cooling down the girl, who still looked rather shaken up. A soft frown settled on her features, like she was trying to remember what had happened. "We were talking in class… about a m–mistake that I had made…"

Kakashi nodded, grabbing a bottle of water out of the miniature fridge under his desk and handing it to her. She took it gratefully, uncapping it and taking a large gulp before reluctantly continuing. "…we left the class, but then… I–I don't remember what happened."

He knew she was lying. He could tell by the way she was suddenly avoiding eye contact and how her hold tightened on the bottle. However, whilst he knew that he should make Sakura talk about it, Kakashi didn't want her to have another episode such as that. Yes, he would be more prepared for it this time (even though he should be prepared _all_ of the time), but it would still be a strain on her body and mind, which would be pretty dangerous due to her condition, her illness. "I believe you may have had a panic attack, Sakura." At her startled look, he sat down beside her, softening his tone somewhat to a comforting one. "It wasn't as bad as it could have been, although you did become rather distressed and wouldn't let me help you."

"W–what do you mean?"

"Well," Kakashi leaned back in his seat slightly, his eyebrows knitting together, "I put my hand on your shoulder, but you completely tensed up, almost like…" For a moment, he seemed to be thinking his words over carefully, like he wasn't even sure if he should say them, before sitting up straight again, looking her in the eye. "It was a little like how Gaara reacts to being touched."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Did I attack you?"

He shook he head, giving her a small, unseen smile. The only reason she could tell that he was smiling was because of the way his eyes creased. "You only tensed up, kind of like how Gaara does. You didn't get angry, you just tried to get away from me."

She looked down at the ground, once again refusing to make eye contact. "…Oh."

"So what did you want to speak about, Sakura?"

"It doesn't matter now." Sakura told him a little too quickly. "I'll be fine."

Again, Kakashi could tell that she was lying.

Sakura was _not_ going to be fine.

* * *

**A/N – Since you were all so generous with your reviews last night, I decided to update again! You must think I have no life, hahaha. Yeah... I don't have a life. But I _do_ love updating! :-) **

**So, I gave you all quite a few clues in this chapter! If you haven't worked them out, though, then you're just going to have to wait. It will all be revealed soon enough but for now, it's just going to be little things like in this chapter.**

**OH! One of my absolute favourite characters will be coming into the story next chapter. Originally, they weren't going to be a part of it, but meh. I love him!**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	15. I Will Always Be Here To Listen

**Chapter 15 – I Will Always Be Here To Listen**

It had been almost a month since her panic attack at school. For a couple of days people had watched her more than what they usually did, just waiting for her to snap like wild animals waiting for their prey. It was so unnerving.

She and Sasuke were once again talking, although he seemed more wary of her now, watching her just as closely as the others. He had kissed her once or twice, but hadn't made any move to go further than that. Sakura couldn't blame him, to be honest. The way she had acted after their first time together in months would be enough to put anybody off. That didn't mean she didn't want him though. No, she wanted him, wanted him to make her forget everything.

As well as that, she had grown even closer to Gaara. He was the only one who wasn't treating her like glass, like she was going to break at just the smallest of things. Maybe she_ was_ going to break, but Sakura still didn't like to be treated that way. She didn't think that anybody liked being treated such a way. It was humiliating, degrading. Yes, Sakura knew that they all cared about her, but still.

During the past month, her mood had been going from bad to worse and tonight, it was just so much worse.

It had been a whole year since that night, since the night that had changed everything.

Sakura couldn't even bring herself to move or get out of bed, so she was silently surprised as she managed to sit up and stare around her room with empty eyes. It was like she wasn't even in control of her own actions, like she was simply watching from afar.

For the past week or so, Mebuki had been watching Sakura closely, also remembering what had happened. Only, Mebuki didn't know what had happened on _this_ night last year, she was remembering what happened afterwards, what Sakura had done.

She didn't want to be in this house, especially not tonight. Sakura wasn't sure as to where she was going, but as she stood up and pulled on a pair of boots, she found that she didn't care.

* * *

A groan escaped his lips as Sasuke tried to ignore the urge to close his eyes. He was so tired! Practice had gone on a lot longer than he had expected and not only that, but he had stayed at Naruto's house a lot longer than he had originally planned – he hadn't even wanted to go in the first place. However, Sasuke had learned before that saying no to Kushina was like saying no to a hungry lion. The woman was as violent as Sakura, or as violent as Sakura _used _to be.

It hadn't even been Naruto who invited him over, it had been his parents. They had wanted to talk to them both to see how things were going, but the two boys had known all along they were really asking about Sakura. It became even more obvious when they heard that Naruto still wasn't speaking to Sakura, since Kushina had started to yell at the blond whilst Minato had shook his head sadly, as though he was disappointed with his own son. However, when they learned that Sasuke was speaking to her once again, they had looked relieved.

What was he supposed to make of that? What did it mean? He had absolutely no idea.

So it was safe to say that Sasuke was well and truly worn out and trying to figure out what was going on with Sakura was just wearing him out even further. It was obviously something serious – it would have to be if _Minato_ was involved – but what could it be?

Whilst Minato and Kushina had looked pleased about his answer, Naruto had frowned before storming off, which was why Sasuke was driving home right now. The blond hadn't come back, which more or less told the Uchiha that they had fallen out, _again_. You would think with all their arguments and falling outs that they were an old married couple.

Sasuke shuddered as the image of him married to Naruto entered his mind.

Well, at least he now knew what to think of if he didn't want to have a cold shower.

As he turned onto the road that led to his house, Sasuke slowed down considerably. It was too risky in the dark to drive as fast as he usually did. Since the area around his home wasn't all that popular and only those who lived on their road or visitors came by, there weren't many streetlights. People had complained about it, but apparently to add more electricity around the woods would destroy the nature–view or something of the sort. Sasuke didn't really care to be honest.

He was just a few minutes away from his house when a head of pink hair came into view. It was only because of his headlights that he had even seen her! What the hell was Sakura doing sitting in the road? If he hadn't seen her, he would have hit her with his car! Slamming down hard on his brakes, Sasuke cursed. What annoyed and confused him even further was the fact that she was staring at the woods, her eyes seeming detached as she did so. She didn't even blink or flinch as his car skidded to a stop only a few feet away from her!

He was quick to get out of his car, anxious to see if she had been harmed or anything of the sort. However, just as Sasuke went to speak, Sakura started to talk.

"It was here." She whispered softly, her eyes still watching the woods unseeingly.

Sasuke frowned as he looked away from Sakura and followed her line of sight. "What was here?"

"It happened here." Her voice was still a whisper, still emotionless.

"What happened here?" Sasuke asked more firmly. He was beginning to feel uneasy as he looked back and forth from the unfocused look in Sakura's eyes, to the woods that at one point in their lives, everyone tried to avoid going near. The way Sakura was talking, the way her eyes seemed to never blink, in all honesty, it was beginning to creep him out. What the hell was she talking about?

Without fully turning his back to the woods, Sasuke moved forward and knelt down beside Sakura. Now that he was closer, he could see her shivering, he could see the goose bumps on her arms and legs. However, what made it even weirder was that she didn't even seem to feel it.

"Why did you come out without a jacket?" Sasuke huffed in annoyance before looking at her face warily. "Come on, I'll take you home."

Suddenly, it seemed as though she had snapped back to reality as tears started to fall from her eyes. Sakura looked up at Sasuke and he felt his stomach twist at the desperation he could see in her eyes. It only made him feel more uneasy when he spotted the pained, haunted and lost look.

"I can't go back there." Sakura whispered, still not seeming able to raise her voice. "I can't go home. Please, _please,_ Sasuke don't make me go back there. Not tonight."

He frowned. Why didn't she want to go home? Why was she reacting so strongly to just the mentioning of going home? Once again, Sasuke watched her warily. With a sigh, he stood up and removed his jacket before holding out his hand to Sakura. "Itachi's in, but he won't mind if you stay over for the night."

The pained smile that graced Sakura's features felt like he was being stabbed in the gut and as she took his hand he once again frowned because of how cold she felt. Without saying another word, Sasuke pulled her to her feet before putting his jacket over her shoulders. Just as he was about to get in his car, however, a small hand grabbed his wrist, pulling him back to face her.

"Thank you," She told him, her eyes still flowing with tears.

It only took a couple of moments before they were outside of his house. Sasuke waited patiently for Sakura, but each moment that passed, he found himself becoming more and more uneasy at the look in her eyes. It was becoming even more obvious that she was hiding something, but what could she be hiding? Why couldn't she go home? Had she fallen out with her parents? Thinking of parents… Mebuki had once told him something… something that at the time, made absolutely no sense to Sasuke. She had told him to watch out for Sakura, to make sure she didn't do anything stupid or anything she might regret. What did she mean by that?

"Sasuke?"

The Uchiha looked up at the smooth voice as he shut the front door behind him and Sakura. He wasn't surprised to see Itachi there. After all, he was due home four hours ago. Sasuke grunted in acknowledgement, but when he looked up once again, he frowned at the look his brother was giving Sakura. His brother had always cared about Sakura as though she was his little sister, but to openly show his concern for her? It was just strange.

"What happened?" Itachi asked, stepping forward to get a better look at her.

Sasuke once again frowned as he shrugged and looked at Sakura, who was staring at the floor emptily, her tears still falling silently down her cheeks. "I don't know. I found her sitting on the road opposite the woods like this."

Itachi's eyes widened a fraction, but Sasuke didn't see his reaction. He was too busy watching Sakura. Taking a deep, calming breath, the older Uchiha quickly assessed Sakura, trying to see if she was hurt in anyway. He couldn't see much, but it was obvious the girl was in distress. It was obvious that something was bothering her, _torturing_ her. He could see it in her eyes.

"Sasuke," Itachi spoke in his usual, calm voice. "Go run Sakura–san a hot bath. We have no idea how long she was outside tonight and with it due to snow any day now, she will need warming. Until then she can sit in front of the fire."

It was more than obvious that Sasuke didn't want to leave Sakura, but as soon as Itachi glared at his younger brother, he huffed with annoyance and left to do as he was told.

Almost hesitantly, Itachi stepped forward. He watched for any signs of fear, of pain, but there were none. There was absolutely no emotion on Sakura's face right at that moment besides her tears. Even then they seemed to be falling of their own accord, as though she had no control over them and it seemed like Sakura had no idea she was even crying.

"Sakura–san?"

No answer.

He frowned at the lack of answer. Sakura had never ignored him before.

"Sakura," Itachi spoke as quietly and softly as possible, which honestly wasn't too hard. "Would you like some tea?"

Finally, Sakura looked up at Itachi before looking around and frowning. He wasn't too sure what to think about the look of confusion, unease and sadness that suddenly filled her eyes. It was as though she had no idea how she got there. But then again, Sasuke had said he _found_ her like this, so did that mean she was too out of it to realise somebody had put her in their car? The thought made Itachi frown slightly. What if it hadn't been Sasuke who found her? What if it had been someone who would have hurt her?

Even though he hadn't seen her in a while, Itachi still cared for Sakura. It would be hard not to after growing up with the girl. When they were younger, she, Sasuke and Naruto had always followed him around. They had always looked up to him and asked him to help them with things. Naruto and Sasuke would ask him to help them train or practice sports whereas Sakura would ask for his help with studies or playing guitar. Sometimes, she simply stayed with him because she enjoyed his company and after a while, he started to enjoy hers, too. Then, when his and Sasuke's parents had died not too long ago, Sakura had been there for not only Sasuke, but for him too. She had told him that even though he didn't seem upset, she could see through his mask. Sakura had then gone on to tell him that even though he was five years older than her and most likely only thought of her as a kid, he could always speak to her about anything.

So to him, this girl was like a younger sister.

"Sakura," Itachi sighed, "Sasuke is upstairs." When she looked up at him, he gave her a serious look. "What happened tonight, Sakura?"

Biting her lip, Sakura looked down at the ground as more tears started to fall. How could she lie to Itachi? He had always been there for her! But could she really tell him these things? Could she tell him her secrets, things she hadn't even told Tsunade, Kakashi or her parents?

"Nothing happened _tonight_." Sakura spoke quietly as Itachi steered her towards the living room.

Itachi glanced at her as he placed her in front of the fire and grabbed the throw that was on the couch. "Then why were you sat on the road, crying?" When she didn't answer, Itachi placed the throw over her shoulders and sat beside her. He watched her expression carefully as she watched the fire. "Why are you crying _now_?"

"I…" Sakura whimpered, her eyes closing tightly. "I…"

He leaned forward a fraction, his eyes narrowing at the raw pain he had seen in Sakura's eyes before she closed them. "What happened to you, Sakura?"

Before he could even blink, Sakura started sobbing. It wasn't like her previous tears when Sasuke brought her into their home. No, her breathing came so quickly that Itachi thought she was having a panic attack. Her entire body was shaking and she gripped a tight hold of the throw in her fists as her eyes squeezed closed. Like earlier, there were still tears, but these ones came much quicker, much thicker and much more alarming. However, the thing that worried him the most was when her breathing turned into coughing as she tried to take deep, pathetic breaths in between each sob.

"Sakura, it's okay." Itachi spoke as calmly as possible.

His eyes were wide as he moved forward, rubbing her back in circular motions to try and soothe her. Itachi had never seen her like this before. Sure, he had seen her when she threw tantrums, when she had cried and got mad, but never had he ever seen her this hysterical. Never had he ever seen her in this much pain.

For the first time ever, Itachi had no idea what to do.

"It's," Sakura wheezed in between coughs, "all," again, there were more desperate breaths, "my fault."

Her hands released the throw she had been holding before clutching at his shirt as she shook with her sobs, as she tried to silence herself by pressing her face into his chest. Nothing worked though and Itachi was growing more concerned by the minute. He was worried she was actually having a panic attack. He was worried that she would make herself sick from her sobbing or knock herself out due to lack of oxygen. His brilliant mind seemed to have come to a screeching halt as he stared down at the top of her head with wide eyes. All Itachi could think was that he _had_ to calm her down.

"Sakura," His voice was smooth, hiding his growing unease and worry. "Calm down. It's okay. Nothing is your fault."

She shook her head. "They all… hate me!" Before he could say anything else, Sakura continued. "They… I… past year… been _so_ hard…" Even though he could barely understand what she was trying to tell him, Sakura still had Itachi's full attention. "…I needed… needed them… they hate me… _I_ hate me…" His eyes widened a fraction as his hold tightened. "…mom and dad… nobody…" Her body increased in shakes and the shaking seemed to affect her voice as it was uneven and trembling. "…it… it hurt so much… still does… I need them… but… but they hate me… it's… it's… all… my fault."

It still made no sense, but Itachi could grasp the meaning:

She needed her friends and her parents, they weren't there and it hurt. Because of the many decisions and things she had chosen or done, Sakura believed they all hated her and for that, she hated herself.

Or at least, that was what he thought she was trying to tell him.

"Itachi," A different voice came.

Itachi looked away from Sakura and over to Sasuke, who was stood in the doorway, frowning and looking as unsure as what his voice sounded.

"Leave us, Sasuke." He didn't mean to sound as harsh as he did.

Sasuke's frown deepened as he looked down at the hysterical Sakura. He had also never seen her in such a state before and honestly, it scared him. "What–"

"Sasuke," Itachi almost growled, "leave us. Go to Sakura's house and ask Mebuki–san to pack a bag of her things – make sure there are enough items for a couple of days, a week at most. I will come and find you when you return and once Sakura has calmed down."

Even though he wanted to stay, Sasuke knew better than to disobey his older brother, especially when he had that tone of voice and look in his eyes. With another glance at Sakura, Sasuke looked back at Itachi and nodded once before leaving. He knew for a fact that Itachi would never hurt or upset her.

"Come, Sakura." Itachi said with a firm tone in his voice. "Sasuke has run a bath for you."

She nodded and whilst he lifted her, she held onto Itachi as though he was the only thing keeping her there, keeping her with him. It was like her mind was split in two, one side telling her just to screw it all, to give up and the other half, the half she was fighting to achieve, was telling her to control herself. It was telling her that Itachi and Sasuke were both proud men who disliked weaknesses. She needed to be strong for them, even if it was only a front.

Just as they entered the warm bathroom that felt like heaven to Sakura already, she grabbed Itachi's wrist, sensing that he was about to leave. "Don't go." She whispered, her eyes fixed on the ground as she continued, "I don't… I can't be alone, not tonight."

'_So much for being strong_' she thought tiredly.

Not for the first time that night, Itachi frowned at the look in her eyes that she was trying so hard to hide. Slowly, he nodded and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He could see Sakura's body shaking every couple of minutes, like she was trying to hold back her sobs and he didn't doubt for a second that she was. As he felt the temperature of the water – making sure it wouldn't be too hot for her – Itachi watched her silently as Sakura wrapped her arms around her upper torso before turning to her.

"I won't try anything." He said softly at the wide eyed look in her eyes. "I promise, Sakura, you can trust me."

Tears filled her eyes again before she nodded and looked down at the ground, lowering her arms so that Itachi could help her undress. As he did, his eyes stopped on various marks on her body, never having noticed any of them before, but sensing her discomfort at his staring, he kept his eyes on his hands, not wanting to make her anymore uncomfortable than she already seemed to be. However the moment he removed her shirt, his breathing stopped as he felt dread fill his entire body for the first time since his parents' death.

"Y–you said… you said that I could trust you. So _please_, d–don't tell anyone," Sakura whispered, her eyes suddenly looking up into his, "especially Sasuke."

His eyes stayed locked with what had caught his attention before he eventually pulled them away and continued with undressing her, leaving Sakura in just her boy–cut underwear and bra as he helped her into the bath, neither feeling comfortable with her being completely naked. It would be unbelievably hard to keep Sakura's secret from his brother, but when he looked into her eyes and saw the desperation, he reluctantly nodded.

"I won't breathe a word, Sakura." He told her honestly before filling a jug with water and tilting her head back. A sigh mixed between relief and relaxation escaped her lips as he washed her hair gently. "But know that even if I am not your first choice, I will always be here to listen."

Itachi's eyes saddened as a trail of wetness slipped down the side of her face. He knew it wasn't the bath water for it had come from her eye.

The sight of her tears made a question repeat itself in his mind.

What had happened to Haruno Sakura?

* * *

**A/N - Before you say that Itachi is OOC, I know he is! Well, actually, I don't. If you think about it, almost his entire life had been a lie, so nobody really knows his true personality and what he'd do for those he cares for (apart from what was shown in the anime and manga, of course). I mean what he'd do for people who _aren't_ related to him. I think that because of his pacifistic nature and being the selfless person that he was, he'd do something like this for those he cares for.  
**

**Also, don't worry! This isn't going to turn into a ItaSaku fic (even if I do love the pairing)! He's just going to be there for Sakura as an older brother and a friend. He may even put Sasuke in his place for those of you who are getting annoyed with him ;-)  
**

**I actually squeal like a fan-girl whenever I get a review from you all! You're honestly the nicest people who've ever reviewed my stories before and I haven't had a single flame.  
**

**Keep trying to guess what happened to Sakura and I'll keep giving you all more clues! ;-)**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	16. Look After Her

**Chapter 16 – Look After Her**

His mind was all over the place as Sasuke ran the bath for Sakura. No matter how hard he tried, he just could not make sense of it – of _any_ of it! What the hell had happened? One moment he was driving home and then the next, he finds Sakura sitting in the road, staring at the woods. To make matters worse she seemed to be completely out of it, like she wasn't even fully there!

Adding some bath crème that supposedly helped to relax your muscles to the water, Sasuke's frown deepened.

Had something happened at her house? Was that the reason why she didn't want to go back? It wouldn't really surprise him if Sasuke was completely honest. The first time he went to Sakura's house so that they could do their schoolwork, Mebuki had been pretty unbearable. Not only did she go against Sakura's wishes of giving them some privacy, but she had also bombarded him with questions that made both him and Sakura extremely uncomfortable a week or so after. It didn't help that Sasuke was so tired. Any other day, when he was fully rested, there wouldn't have been a problem with trying to figure everything out. But right now, after such a long day, Sasuke was wiped and wanted nothing more than to go to bed.

But… he couldn't go to bed, at least not until he knew that Sakura was okay.

Once the bath was filled, Sasuke left the bathroom and made his way towards the living room. However, as he stood in the doorway to the room, what he saw and heard stopped him, made his heart leap right into his throat and caused his stomach to twist so sharply that he felt as though he was about to throw up.

"…_They hate me… _I_ hate me… mom and dad… nobody… it… it hurt so much… still does… I need them… but… but they hate me… it's… it's… all… my fault._"

Sasuke's breathing all but stopped as his blood ran cold. Why was Sakura crying so hard? Had Itachi done something to cause this… this breakdown? Sasuke flinched at the thought. The word breakdown seemed a little harsh, but he could think of no other word to use that was better suited to the current situation. Not only that, but Sasuke couldn't see Itachi doing anything to upset or harm Sakura, not when he was openly showing how much he cared for her like he was right now.

Right now, Itachi had his arms wrapped around the trembling, hysterical Sakura and his hold only tightened as she continued to cry. The only person the older Uchiha brother had ever showed such affection for was for him, for Sasuke. It had been a couple of years back when their parents had died, when little else could comfort him.

Seeing Sakura in such a way… it really did scare him, but what scared him even more were her words. No, it wasn't her words, it was the way she was saying them. Sakura was speaking like she couldn't keep going, like she was giving up. It was like she was completely worn out and tired of everything.

"Itachi," Sasuke finally spoke up, not liking were his thoughts were taking him.

Itachi looked away from Sakura and over to Sasuke, who was stood in the doorway, frowning and looking as unsure as what his voice sounded.

"Leave us, Sasuke."

Sasuke knew that Itachi didn't mean to sound as harsh as it did, but he couldn't help but deepen his frown as he looked down at the hysterical Sakura. The state she was still in was making him uneasy, especially since she was refusing to look at him, instead choosing to keep her face pressed firmly into Itachi's chest. "What–"

"Sasuke," Itachi almost growled, "leave us. Go to Sakura's house and ask Mebuki–san to pack a bag of her things – make sure there are enough items for a couple of days, a week at most. I will come and find you when you return and once Sakura has calmed down."

Even though he wanted to stay, Sasuke knew better than to disobey his older brother, especially when he had that tone of voice and look in his eyes. With another glance at Sakura, Sasuke looked back at Itachi and nodded once before leaving. He knew for a fact that Itachi would never hurt or upset her.

* * *

"What do you mean she's at your house?" Mebuki demanded angrily. "Sakura is upstairs in her bedroom and has been there all night!"

Sasuke sighed impatiently as he rubbed his tired eyes. They were really beginning to sting due to his exhaustion. "She isn't in her bedroom, Mebuki. I found Sakura in the middle of the road whilst I was driving home, but when I told her I would bring her here, she begged me not to. Itachi said that it is fine if she stays with us for a couple of days."

For a moment, when she looked away, it had looked as though Mebuki was about to break down into tears, but she quickly pushed the tears away and looked back at Sasuke, who was watching her silently. "I will need to speak about this with Itachi." Mebuki told Sasuke seriously, her eyes narrowing when Sasuke frowned. "I'm not saying that I don't believe you, Sasuke, I am just saying that there are a few things that Itachi may need to know, things that I can't explain to you."

His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What things?"

"It's not my place to tell you, Sasuke, it is Sakura's." Running a hand through her hair, Mebuki sighed. "The only reason I will be telling Itachi is because he will need to keep a close eye on Sakura." She paused briefly for a moment, a look of uncertainty flitting across her features before she once again sighed. "I will go and get some things for her. You may as well go home unless you walked here, then I will give you a lift."

Sasuke nodded once. "I walked here."

He had needed to clear his head after seeing Sakura in such a state. Not only that, but they more or less lived next door to each other. Sure, there was quite a distance between their houses, but they lived on the same road. There wasn't really any point in driving such a distance and not only that, but Sasuke was too tired to drive. He would only be putting himself at risk and anyone else if they happened to be on the road, although he very much doubted that last part.

"Very well," Mebuki replied, "just go and wait in the living room."

When Sasuke once again nodded before walking away, Mebuki headed towards Sakura's room, sighing as she did so.

* * *

"Where is Sakura?" Mebuki asked Itachi as he offered her a cup of tea, which she gratefully accepted.

With a barely even audible sigh, the Uchiha took a seat opposite Mebuki at the table, his usual gracefulness seeming to have disappeared as he did so. His posture wasn't as great as it usually was and it actually looked as though Itachi was slouching. "Right at this moment, Sakura is sleeping in the guest room next to my own, Mebuki–san. She was extremely tired and had worn herself out."

Worry flashed through Mebuki's eyes as she looked down at the cup in her hands, suddenly wishing it was something stronger than tea. "Maybe staying here for a few days will be good for her." She mumbled before nodding faintly. "Yes, maybe getting out of the house will do her good." Then, Mebuki looked up at Itachi. "I came here because there are some things that you will need to know."

"And they are?"

"Please know, Itachi, that you have my complete trust, especially since you have always looked out for Sakura." She told Itachi softly. "I've known you since you were just a child and you have become such a kind–hearted young man, a man that both of your parents will be proud of." Mebuki smiled softly when Itachi lowered his gaze slightly before looking back up at her. "Just… please take care of my daughter. This isn't something that can be passed off as unimportant, so I need you to keep an eye on Sakura. She… she…"

Seeing that Mebuki couldn't finish her sentence and was becoming quite distressed, Itachi nodded once. "I already know, Mebuki–san."

The woman closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "It will be a whole year since that night in seventeen days, which may be the reasoning behind her actions." As Mebuki opened her eyes again, she gave Itachi a serious look as he stared back in understanding. "Sakura needs to be watched closely, but try not to make her uncomfortable whilst doing so – it will only make her lash out." Lifting a hand and running it through her hair, Mebuki sighed before placing her elbow on the table and leaning into her hand, her eyes once again closing. "I could tell you what to expect, but honestly, even Sakura herself doesn't know what to expect. She is unpredictable and with a big enough push, she can also be dangerous, not only to herself, but to others as well."

Finally looking back up at Itachi, she stared at him with concerned eyes whilst he looked at her with a minute frown. "If it becomes too much for you to handle, Itachi, don't think twice about calling me. I will also be grateful if you can keep me updated on how she is doing and just…" Mebuki bit her lip softly before releasing it. "Try to do whatever you can to make her happy or comfortable." There was a short pause before Mebuki leaned down and grabbed her bag. When she placed it onto her lap and dug through it, she pulled out a bottle that had Itachi raising a questioning eyebrow. "Make sure Sakura takes _one_ of these _every_ day after her breakfast. You may have to force her to eat her food as well as take her medication, but it needs to be done and even though at the time Sakura may not like it and it won't be pleasant for either of you, she will understand."

Itachi's frown deepened as Mebuki handed him the bottle of medication. It had Sakura's name on it and even though he was no doctor, he knew what the medication was for and realising this, Itachi's eyes widened. "Sakura is–"

"Mom, what are you doing here?"

At the sound of the soft, tired voice, both Itachi and Mebuki turned to look at a frowning Sakura as she stood in the doorway. The sight of Sakura caused Mebuki's eyes to sadden, but she did well to hide her reaction. Sakura was currently half asleep, her eyes squinting as she rubbed them and she was wearing a shirt that looked much too big for her – Mebuki presumed it was one of Sasuke's or possibly even Itachi's. It didn't look as though she had anything on underneath the shirt, but Mebuki didn't want to ask just in case she didn't. Besides, it was keeping her covered and reached mid–thigh and Sakura seemed comfortable enough.

"I only came to bring you your stuff." Mebuki replied gently, knowing just how irritable Sakura could be when she was tired. "Itachi said that you're welcome to stay here for a couple of days, just until you feel a little better."

Sakura nodded slowly as she stepped into the kitchen, closing the door behind her. When she walked further into the kitchen, her eyes narrowed as she saw what Itachi was holding, but at the look in his eyes, Sakura relaxed. There was no judgement in his eyes, just silent understanding. "Thanks."

"There is no need to thank me, Sakura." Itachi gave her a small smile. "You are very much like a sister to me."

Her bottom lip threatened to start trembling again, but Sakura got a hold of herself before it could happen and instead gave him a smile in return.

Mebuki gave Sakura a stern look. "I've packed you a couple of things including your medication, clothes and a couple of other bits that you might need. Oh, I brought your phone too and I will give Itachi the number in case you decide to go out and visit Gaara." Itachi looked over at Sakura questioningly, but her eyes were glued to her mother's. "Remember, you eat your breakfast first and then take the tablet. You need to have a full stomach."

"I know, mom." Sakura sighed as she rested her head in her hands and closed her eyes.

The woman looked over at Itachi and once again gave him a serious look. "I trust you to look after my daughter, Itachi. It is the only reason why I am allowing this. I know that you're a responsible person and you will do whatever is possible to look after Sakura, you always have done, so please do not make me regret putting my full trust in you."

"You won't." Itachi told her, giving her a small, reassuring smile. "I promise I will look after Sakura."

Sakura looked up at Itachi, her eyes pleading. "Don't let Sasuke know about any of this, Itachi." She whispered softly, although there was a hint of desperation in her voice and features. "I don't… I don't want him to look at me differently or…" Shaking her head, Sakura lowered her hands and raised her head completely. "I don't want him to know yet. I'm not… I'm not ready for him to know yet."

Just like earlier, when he had been helping her bathe, Itachi looked torn before he finally nodded. "If that is what you want, Sakura."

"It is." She whispered quietly. "I want them all to forgive me before I let them know. I don't want pity; I just want my friends back."

This time, Mebuki couldn't help but show her sadness as she watched Sakura visibly deflate, like the words she had spoken made her feel heavy. She wanted nothing more than to reach across the table and pull Sakura into a tight hug, but she knew her daughter wouldn't appreciate being pitied. Instead, Mebuki took a deep breath before looking up at the clock. "I should get going, Kazashi will be home by now and is probably wondering where I am." She told them both whilst standing. "Are you okay with staying here, Sakura?"

"Yes." Sakura smiled as she looked up at Itachi and then over to her mother. "I need to get out of the house. It felt…"

At Sakura's grimace, Mebuki's eyes once again saddened. "I know, sweetie." She said softly before walking forward and hugging her. "I expect you to call or text me every day, okay? And don't think that I won't be checking in on you all and making sure you're taking your medication. Oh! Speaking of which, Itachi," Mebuki quickly turned to Itachi, who looked up at her silently, "Sakura has an appointment with Tsunade–sama every Thursday at five in the afternoon. I don't know how long she'll be staying here, or if she'll feel comfortable with you taking her, but because Sakura is under eighteen, somebody must accompany her. You don't have to go into the room with her, just sign her in." Shooting a dry glance in Sakura's direction as Mebuki walked over to the doorway, she continued. "You see, Sakura doesn't like going, so she will try anything and everything to get out of it, which is why somebody must accompany her and sign her in."

"I will make sure Sakura goes, Mebuki–san." Itachi told her seriously. "Just send me the address and I will take her."

Sakura couldn't get a word in as her mother nodded once. "Thank you, Itachi. Oh and before I leave, have you and Sasuke any plans for Christmas day?"

For a moment, there was nothing but silence as Itachi thought about it. "No, we were simply going to spend Christmas day here."

"You can't do that!" Sakura sounded incredulous and even offended as she snapped her head to the side to look at Itachi. "You can't spend Christmas here all alone." Turning to face a frowning Mebuki, Sakura practically begged, "Mom, please can both Itachi and Sasuke spend Christmas at our house? You always cook way too much food anyway!"

Mebuki nodded, looking equally as unhappy as her daughter did. "Itachi, I must insist. I know for a fact that your mother wouldn't want her sons spending the holidays alone."

Itachi gave them a soft smile, his features looking much younger as he did so. "No, she wouldn't." He agreed before nodding once. "We will be there, thank you."

Both Mebuki and Sakura smiled brightly before they exchanged goodnights and the former left. When she did, Sakura looked over at Itachi but as she did, she glanced at the bottle that was still in his hands. A soft sigh escaped the pink haired teenager's lips as she decided to be truthful. "You will need to keep hold of them." Sakura told Itachi honestly, just as he was about to pass her the medication. "The last time I was in charge of them I… I threw them all away."

There was a moment of silence before Itachi pocketed the tablets and stood. "What time do you usually take them?"

"There's no specific time, I just take one after my breakfast." Sakura bit her lip before looking up at Itachi as he guided her out of the kitchen, switching off the lights as he did so. "What about Sasuke? How am I going to take them without him noticing?"

Looking down at Sakura, Itachi gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Sakura. Sasuke is always up early and spends at least an hour and a half in the gym that he created in one of the spare rooms. If you are not up by that time, I will wake you up."

Sakura returned his smile before looking over at the front door just as they had been about to go upstairs. "Aren't… aren't you going to lock it?"

At the building worry he could sense and see, Itachi nodded once before walking over to the front door, locking and bolting it as he did so. Usually he kept it unlocked, since hardly anybody lived around these areas and he often had friends coming and going. Not to mention both he and Sasuke were ridiculously light sleepers, especially the former. Just the sound of the front door opening would wake Itachi up. However, if it made Sakura more comfortable, then he would lock it.

"Thanks."

Continuing their walk up the stairs, Itachi suddenly paused, his eye narrowing a fraction. After a couple of moments, he finally spoke. "Where's Sasuke?"

Like Itachi, Sakura also paused before recognition washed over her features. "He's asleep. He didn't even get changed or shut his door either, just simply collapsed on top of his bed."

"Sasuke has been training hard." He stated as they both continued going upstairs. When they reached the guest room next to his bedroom, Itachi gave Sakura another small smile. "Goodnight, Sakura. I will be just next door if you need anything."

Sakura smiled. "Thanks for this, Itachi. You have no idea how grateful I am."

He simply nodded before both entered their own rooms.

* * *

**A/N - Those last couple of lines seem really strange to me for some reason. I mean, it sounds like something you'd hear in a porno or something. Eh, whatever.  
**

**Think of this like a part two to the last chapter, since that's what it pretty much was.**

**Thank you so much to those who keep reviewing! I love receiving and reading your reviews.**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	17. Blondie's Revenge

**Chapter 17 – Blondie's Revenge**

_It was too hot, too crowded and too noisy and it was all making her head spin._

_She wasn't too sure, but Sakura was certain that it was coming up to her fifth hour of simply walking. What's her destination? Even she didn't know such things. All Sakura wanted was to find something or someone to keep her grounded, to take away the pain._

_Despite her inner turmoil, on the outside she looked cold, empty. Unlike before, nobody gave her a second glance and instead went on with their days. The only people who _did_ give her a second glance were people who were looking at her with pity, with disgust. They were looking down their noses at her and whilst that would have sent Sakura into a fit of rage before, she couldn't even bring herself to bat an eyelash. It was like she was numb in some ways, but in others… in others, it was like the pain was excruciating. Her body ached with not only hunger and exhaustion, but from what had happened. It felt like she was burning up, like she was sitting way too close to a fire, but no matter what Sakura tried, she couldn't cool herself down. She had tried wearing fewer clothes, tried sitting in front of a fan and had even taken a cold shower, but nothing worked for long and it was beginning to really get to her._

_To say that she was scared would be an understatement. She was the kind of girl who _needed_ comfort, who _needed_ somebody to be there for her and help her. Yes, Sakura was independent in some ways, but sometimes, she needed somebody to help her, to guide her._

_But she now had nobody and there was nobody else to blame but herself._

_Why the hell did she have to go and mess everything up? Why did she have to be such a disgusting, worthless and pathetic slut? God, why was she so damn useless?_

_Clutching a hand to her head, Sakura leaned against the wall as her emotionless expression finally broke and her tears started to fall. However, like before, nobody paid attention to her. You see, in a city as big as Konoha, you tend to see things such as crying girls often so nobody questioned it anymore, especially since most of them were crying about splitting up with their boyfriends or some other petty drama such as that._

_There wasn't anything that Sakura wouldn't give for her problems to be as minute as that._

_She held her head in her hands and slowly slid down the wall until she was sitting on the ground, her knees bent and pressed up to her chest as she sobbed. Before now Sakura would have cringed at just the thought of sitting on a dirty sidewalk in the middle of the day and crying in front of people who didn't care, who walked by without a second thought or glance, but now she couldn't bring herself to care in the slightest._

_Nobody cared for her, not even her best friends, Ino and Naruto. Not even the boy she had been seeing for over a year, Sasuke. Not a single one of any of her friends wanted anything to do with her. They all thought of her as heartless, as somebody who deserved everything she got. The thought caused her heart to clench painfully and before she knew it, Sakura was crying even harder. She just wanted her friends back. She wanted the person she used to be back._

"_Excuse me, are you okay?"_

_At first, Sakura didn't think that whoever was speaking was speaking to _her_, but when she raised her head from her hands and looked up, she saw a man standing in front of her, his eyebrows furrowed as he took in her pitiful state. There wasn't anything unusual about the man and he looked pretty average, his hair was dark and spiked, matching his equally dark eyes, but he was dressed like an important businessman, like he mattered to somebody._

_When Sakura could only stare at him, the man knelt down before her. "Do you need to call somebody?"_

_Finally, Sakura found her voice as she closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall. "Even if I did, they wouldn't answer or care."_

"_You have nobody at all who cares for you?"_

_Usually such a question would have immediately sent her mind into overdrive, trying to figure out why he would want to know such a thing. However right now, her mind was completely screwed up and all she could think was that this was the first person in who knows how long to show concern for her. A total stranger had seen what her own parents had not. "No."_

"_Come on," He told her, holding out his hand, "I'll buy you lunch."_

_And so she went with him._

* * *

Sakura shot up in bed, her heart beating erratically, sweat covering her body and her hand pressed to her mouth to stop herself from crying out.

It wasn't the worst dream she had ever had, but it was one of the most painful to remember. At the time leaving with that man had seemed like one of the best things to have ever happened to her. He had been so kind and he looked after her, but it was only hours later when everything changed.

Quickly shoving the thoughts from her mind, Sakura threw the covers from her body and stood up on unsteady legs, trying to keep the contents of her stomach down. However, she was momentarily startled to find that she wasn't in her bedroom, that this room didn't even belong in her house. Where was she? Her hand pressed even tighter against her lips when a whimper of fear escaped her. She couldn't be back in that place, could she? She had gotten away from there!

It was then that the Uchiha emblem caught her eye, making Sakura close her eyes and exhale a sigh of relief. No matter how hard she tried though, she couldn't calm her heartbeat as it pounded hard and fast.

Remembering that Itachi's room was next door, Sakura moved as quietly as possible out of her room and down the hall. She couldn't be alone, not tonight, not after a dream such as that and since it wouldn't be appropriate for her to share a bed with Itachi, Sakura went to the one place she knew she would be accepted.

She went to Sasuke's room.

However, unlike the last time she had walked by his room, Sasuke's door was now closed and there was the sound of movement inside. Had he woken up? That was even better. At least now she could talk to him and maybe he'd even comfort her.

Knocking softly on his door and waiting for him to say come in, Sakura entered his room and watched him silently as he pulled his shirt over his head, dumping it in the corner with his other laundry. When she didn't speak, Sasuke turned around, only to pause at the sight of Sakura, since he had thought it would be Itachi coming to speak to him about what had happened earlier, like he said he would.

"Is that Itachi's shirt?"

Sakura looked down at herself and noticed what he was probably thinking. She was wearing one of Itachi's old shirts that reached mid–thigh and the sleeves covered most of her hands, completely drowning her figure. It probably looked like she was wearing nothing underneath it. "It's not like that," She whispered hoarsely before clearing her throat, "I had nothing else to wear after my bath."

Seeming to find her answer acceptable, Sasuke nodded once before looking her over. "So what do you want?"

There was the sound of a deep breath being taken before Sakura moved forward and once she was right in front of Sasuke, she took a hold of his hands in her own, staring down at them to avoid eye contact. "I don't want to be alone tonight."

"You're not staying in here." Sasuke told her quietly as he pulled his hands out of hers. "Just go back to the guest room, Sakura."

Tears filled her eyes at his words. Why wasn't he letting her stay? Why was he pushing her away again? Did he know? Had Itachi broken his promise and told Sasuke? Or was it her mother who had told him? Didn't he want her anymore? "S–Sasuke," Her voice had a slightly desperate tone to it as she looked up at him. "_Please_. I can't be alone."

He shook his head. "Get out."

It was then that her tears finally started to fall, but Sasuke didn't even seem bothered by them. However as her tears dripped from her face and onto his wooden floor, certain words drifted to her, telling her not to cry and show weakness. It was with those words that Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them. If Sasuke was surprised by her sudden change, he didn't say anything and instead stared at her silently.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you."

And with that, she walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. However to Sasuke, it may as well have been slammed.

On the other side of the door, Sakura pressed her hand to her mouth once again to silence her ragged breaths and whimpers as she walked down the hallway and passed Itachi's room. She knew how much of a light sleeper he was and if he heard her crying, there was no doubt in her mind that he would wake up.

When she was downstairs in the living room, Sakura turned on the television and turned it to a reasonable volume that hopefully wouldn't wake Itachi or keep Sasuke awake. Once she had, she leaned back into the sofa, trying her hardest not to focus too hard on the shadows of the room. Sometimes her mind liked to play tricks on her, liked to make her think that she was being watched, or that she was being stalked by some unseen predator. She knew none of this was true but it still had her heart racing as well as her breathing.

It wasn't even five minutes later that a figure appeared in the doorway, making her jump at his sudden appearance.

"Sakura, what are you doing awake at this time?"

Her eyes lowered as Itachi entered the living room, immediately grabbing the throw he had used earlier that night and wrapping it around her. His presence brought her comfort, just like it always had. When they were kids it was always Itachi she went to first about the bullies picking on her and about any other problem she had. The memory of Itachi standing up for her against the bullies made Sakura smile softly as he sat down beside her. Itachi wanted her. He had always cared for her and would always be there to keep her grounded. He probably wasn't even aware of how relieved and happy that made her.

"Have you been crying again?" He asked quietly as he tilted her face up so he could see her better.

A frown settled on her features as Sakura looked up at him. "I–I had a nightmare and I didn't want to be alone." She whispered. "I know it sounds… it sounds pathetic, but I just didn't. So I went to Sasuke's room… but he told me to get out and go back to bed." Her eyes lowered once again as she felt ashamed of how pathetic she had become. Where had the strong girl she once had been gone? "I didn't want to be alone, so I came down here to watch television. The sound usually helps calm me a little."

Like earlier, there was no judgement in Itachi's eyes, just silent understanding that made Sakura feel so grateful for having him there with her. "You could have come to me, Sakura." He told her gently. "I told you earlier that I will always be here for you."

"It wouldn't have been appropriate." She retorted, her head shaking ever so slightly. "It wouldn't have been right for me to sleep in your bed."

"We have shared a bed before." Itachi smiled softly whilst wiping away the remains of her tears. "And I wouldn't have minded. Both you and I know that there would be nothing sexual about sleeping in the same bed."

Slowly and unsurely, Sakura nodded in agreement. Indeed they had shared beds before, back when they were children when they had gone camping together or even when they had just needed a nap. Even though Itachi was five years older than herself, he had still been a great friend to her back then and she was so happy that he was still there for her. "Will you stay here with me?" Sakura asked quietly, looking back up at the television. "I kind of like this show."

With a smirk, Itachi nodded once before leaning back against the sofa and pulling Sakura against him.

* * *

Ino glared at her reflection as she was just about to start on her makeup.

Was it true, did Sasuke really love Sakura? It had been rumoured that the two were seen together and that he had apparently forgiven her, but was any of it true? Sakura had no right to be forgiven! Not after all the hurt she had caused, after all the hearts she had broken!

As Ino remembered that night, tears filled her eyes.

* * *

_Having so many outfits was extremely annoying sometimes. _

_Even though she had more than enough outfits for every single day of the next two years, Ino had nothing to wear. She couldn't find anything to wear for tomorrow night!_

_She had planned it all out. First, she was going to invite Sasuke over for dinner. During that time, Ino had decided to wear her casual outfit – or as casual as her casual outfits could be. Then, she would excuse herself for a couple of minutes and quickly change into something a little more… comfortable. Ino smirked at the thought of her new lingerie. It wouldn't be her first time, but she wanted it to be just as special. She wanted Sasuke to remember every little detail just like Ino knew she would. _

_When she was changed, she planned on seducing Sasuke… or should she tell him about her feelings first? _

"_Ugh!" Ino growled as she climbed into the back of the car. "This is what happens when you don't have the right outfit – everything starts to fall apart!"_

_The driver climbed into the front seat, ignoring Ino's growling and complaints as he drove her to her friend's house. It wasn't unusual for Yamanaka Ino to be annoyed about something and it also wasn't unusual for her to go straight to Sakura's house when she was feeling that way. In fact it happened quite often._

_The journey was short thanks to it being quite late. Around this hour and around Sakura's neighbourhood, it was always quiet since her house was one of very few that lived on a single road across from some woods. In Ino's personal opinion, she had never liked those woods – it always felt as though someone was watching her. Even as a child she had avoided and feared them, especially after Kiba's creepy ghost stories._

_As Ino's car passed a certain house, butterflies filled her stomach and she had to stop herself from squealing. Sakura had no idea how lucky she was to live on the same road as Sasuke! Well, when she says road, Ino means that there was at least a mile or two in between their houses. The houses on this particular road were spread out, giving the large mansions a lot of room for a decently sized garden. Ino wasn't too sure on what the exact measurements were, but she did know that it was big enough for a pool party holding at least two hundred people. In other words, the people who lived on this road were all wealthy._

_Ino adored Sakura's home. There was always a fully__–__stocked bar and refrigerator among many other things and it was just… there was just something about Sakura's house that made Ino feel welcome. Perhaps it was the way Mebuki always greeted her as though she was her own daughter? She didn't have time to think about such things as she got out of the car. The lights were off downstairs, but the light in Sakura's bedroom was on and seeing it, Ino sighed with relief as she grabbed the spare key hidden under the plant pot and unlocked the door._

_There was no welcoming feeling like the many other times she had arrived, but Ino pushed the thought away as she quietly closed the door and walked towards the stairs. It seemed Sakura was the only one home tonight. _

_As Ino reached the hallway that led to Sakura's room, her brows furrowed. There was a strange noise… it almost sounded as though Sakura was sobbing and hitting something. Ino's eyes widened as she quickened her pace. What was wrong with Sakura? Why did it sound like she couldn't breathe?_

_When she arrived, the door to Sakura's room was wide open; showing something Ino wished she had never seen._

_There, lying on top of the boy Ino loved was Sakura. Only, they weren't simply lying together. No, the two of them were as naked as the day they were born and Sasuke's arms were holding her almost lovingly as Sakura rode him. Ino immediately placed the sobbing noises as Sakura crying out with pleasure since now, all the pink haired girl seemed to be doing was crying out. There were also a few grunts coming from underneath her, making Ino's stomach turn._

_However, no matter how much the sight pained her, Ino found that she couldn't turn away. As much as she wanted to leave, or attack Sakura, all she could do was stand there in shock._

_Then, the second Sakura's moans began to rise in pitch and her hips, as well as the ones underneath hers, moved much more desperately, Ino's eyes filled with tears. The blonde covered her mouth as she watched Sasuke flip them over so that he was on top and in control, as she heard the boy she loved whispering to her, telling Sakura words Ino had always wanted to hear. However, when he said them, she was hoping it would be _her_ who he said them to, not her best friend. His words seemed to be all Sakura needed as her body started to move uncontrollably and her moans grew louder._

_Suddenly feeling sick to her stomach, Ino ran._

* * *

Now, Ino regretted running.

She wished she had stayed there to kick Sakura's ass.

Ino glared at her reflection. Why would he choose Sakura over her? Sure, he had known Sakura for almost his entire life and the two were close, but she was _Sakura_! Until she had seen the two of them together, Ino had believed that Sasuke thought of her as annoying and nothing more.

After Sakura had left to who knows where, as far as Ino was aware, Sasuke hadn't been with another girl. The most he was seen doing with a girl was talking – and even that was a rare thing to happen! He had also been much quieter and much moodier after she left. His patience had grown ridiculously thin and at one point, he had been suspended for hitting a teacher. After a while though, he seemed to calm down again and went back to his usual, brooding self. Ino suspected that his older brother, Itachi, had something to do with that.

His actions made Ino look at herself in disgust. Wasn't she pretty enough? Was she too blonde, too pale? Was her skin not clear enough? Then, Sakura's actions made Ino's entire body fill with anger and hatred. She had been her best friend and she had known about her feelings towards Sasuke! How could Sakura do that to her? Ino's fists clenched as she snarled.

Yes, she had already had her revenge by recording the two of them together and sending it anonymously to Naruto, but it didn't seem like enough. It hadn't been straight away that she had recorded them; it had been when she got home as it wasn't until then that she felt the overwhelming need to ruin Sakura. So, after ringing a couple of people, they had hacked into Sakura's computer and recorded her via her webcam. Once that was done, they sent it to Naruto. Upsetting him… whilst it had made her feel a little guilty, Ino couldn't bring herself to regret it. It was because of the fight between him and Sasuke that Sakura left, which had been amazing news to Ino.

What about now, though? Sakura had returned and from what Ino had heard, she was back in Sasuke's life, which just would not do. No matter how hard she tried though, Ino couldn't come up with a plan and it was making her even angrier.

Oh what she would give to destroy that bitch.

* * *

Sasuke looked down at the sight before him with mixed emotions. He didn't really know what to think or to feel about what he was seeing, but he knew that it made him angry, not only at them, but also at himself since it was his own fault. If he had just let Sakura stay the night in his bed, then she wouldn't be sleeping with his older brother.

Right now, the two of them were laying on the sofa together; Sakura was curled up to Itachi's side with his arm around her in a protective hold whilst Itachi himself was lying on his back with his other arm resting under his head. There was only the throw covering them, but despite the cold temperature of the room, neither really seemed too bothered about it.

No…

Sakura was shivering ever so slightly and there were goose bumps covering Itachi's bare chest. The sight made Sasuke's eyes narrow. Why the hell couldn't he have put a shirt on? That arrogant jerk was always trying to show off, in Sasuke's opinion.

Without making a sound, Sasuke moved over to the fireplace and lit it. Despite not liking how he had found them, he couldn't just let them freeze and as the warmth started to fill the room, he saw Sakura relaxing before she let out a soft sigh.

Damn it why couldn't he have just said yes?

Feeling incredibly annoyed with himself, Sasuke moved towards the kitchen to make his breakfast before going to the gym.

* * *

**A/N - There is a reason why Sasuke is acting the way he is, by the way!  
**

**People keep asking for more GaaSaku and trust me (_because I _**_love_**_ the pairing, too_), there will be some in a couple of chapters! I think it's chapter nineteen?**

**Anyways, thank you to all of those who keep reviewing!**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	18. A Beautiful Lie

**Chapter 18 – ****A Beautiful Lie**

"_Why do we close our eyes when we pray? When we dream? When we cry? Or when we kiss? It is because the most beautiful things in life are not seen, but felt by the heart._"

"What a load of crap!" Sakura snapped as she gestured towards the television. "Obviously whoever wrote the script for this show has never seen Jared Leto." When Itachi raised a questioning brow at her, Sakura blushed ever so slightly. "He's hot! I don't know who would want to close their eyes and _not_ look at him… unless they were thinking of him or fantasizing about him." For a second, her blush deepened before she shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Anyways, there are loads of things that are beautiful! Sure, I understand what the guy is trying to say, but to me it just sounds cheesy."

Itachi couldn't help but chuckle at Sakura's rant.

It had been four days since she was welcomed to stay in his and Sasuke's home and there had only been two occasions (well, only one if you're not including the first night) where she hadn't wanted to be alone. Itachi had been working from home the past four days, but when he had an important business meeting, he had no other choice but to leave her alone in the house, since Sasuke was nearly always out.

"I take it you're still obsessed with 'Thirty Seconds To Mars'?" Itachi asked with a raised eyebrow.

She nodded enthusiastically, a bright smile settling over her features. "Well obviously! Who couldn't love them?"

He was the one to introduce Sakura to their music when she was only thirteen years old and since then, she had been obsessed with them. She had been to three of their concerts and had enjoyed every single moment. Damn she wanted to see them again!

"Do you not have any plans?" Sakura asked suddenly, looking up at Itachi curiously. "I mean, don't you have any friends you want to see over the holidays?"

Itachi actually looked thoughtful for a moment, like he was trying to remember whether or not he wanted to actually meet with his friends. Really, there was only one person he could stand out of them all. They weren't that bad, but they did get rather annoying. There was his cousin, too. Though he didn't need to meet with him for a while – he had seen him just the other day at work.

"No." Itachi answered after only a couple of seconds. "Do you?"

"Just Gaara." She shrugged. "We've been hanging out quite a lot recently and he's been a great friend. Oh, I think I might buy him a Christmas present! Do you think he'll like that?"

Chuckling softly, Itachi nodded. Although he didn't know Gaara, surely he would accept a gift from Sakura? "I don't see why not."

"I love this song!" Sakura grinned as she stole the remote from Itachi and turned the music up until it felt like the room was trembling.

_Lie awake in bed at night and think about your life.  
Do you want to be different?  
Try to let go of the truth  
The battles of your youth  
'Cause this is just a game_

Knowing what was coming next made Sakura's grin grow as she shot up out of her seat and grabbed Itachi's hand, ignoring him as he tried to stay on the sofa. "Come on!" She whined playfully, even going as far as to pout. "Dance with me."

"You cannot dance to this song, Sakura." Itachi tried to tell her, but Sakura ignored him as she pulled out the hair–tie from her hair and when the chorus hit, she threw her head forward in time with the music.

_It's a beautiful lie!  
It's the perfect denial.  
Such a beautiful lie to believe in, so beautiful, beautiful it makes me!_

Seeing her style of dancing had Itachi raising an eyebrow at her since it didn't go with the music at all, but the second she lifted her head and flipped her hair back, he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. And as Sakura caught sight of herself in the mirror, she laughed just as loudly.

_It's time to forget about the past  
To wash away what happened last  
Hide behind an empty face  
Don't ask too much, just say  
'Cause this is just a game_

_It's a beautiful lie!  
It's the perfect denial.  
Such a beautiful lie to believe in, so beautiful, beautiful it makes me!_

She tried her best to hit the notes, but it was kind of hard when some of them were screamed. Still, as Sakura screamed them it felt like she was relieving herself of all the aggression she had been feeling. There had always been something satisfying about yelling and screaming, it was almost as satisfying as slamming your fists into something.

_Everyone's looking at me  
I'm running around in circles, baby.  
A quiet desperation's building higher  
I've got to remember this is just a game_

_So beautiful, beautiful  
It's a beautiful lie  
So beautiful, beautiful  
It's a beautiful lie  
So beautiful, beautiful__…_

"Dance with me!" Sakura yelled at Itachi again as she grabbed his hands and made him move. Up until that moment, he had been chuckling and smirking at her, watching as she made a fool of herself, but Sakura didn't care that she was making a fool of herself, she was having fun. She was listening to her favourite band, with a man who was like an older brother to her and _having fun_. How long had it been since she last did something like this? Too long.

_It's a beautiful lie!  
It's the perfect denial.  
Such a beautiful lie to believe in, so beautiful, beautiful it makes me!_

As the song drifted to an end, Sakura let go of Itachi's hands and quickly ran over to the remote before Itachi had the chance to. Even if he did, he didn't move, feeling far too amused with watching Sakura. As she searched through the list of songs, another grin broke across her face.

Waiting patiently to see what song she had chosen, Itachi remained silent. However, the moment he realised what song was playing, Sakura was by his side and was once again grabbing a tight hold of his hands to make him dance.

_He's a stranger to some__ a__nd a vision to none  
He can never get enough,__ g__et enough of the one  
For a fortune he'd quit__ b__ut it's hard to admit__ h__ow it ends and begins  
On his face is a map of the world__, a__ map of the world  
On his face is a map of the world__, a__ map of the world__…_

Raising their hands this way and that, Sakura couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she forced Itachi to dance, although she knew that he was secretly enjoying himself. After all, you couldn't _force_ Itachi to do anything and if he disliked what you were doing to or with him, he would stop you.

_From yesterday, it's coming!  
From yesterday, the fear!  
From yesterday, it calls him__!__  
But he doesn't want to read the message here__!_

She was already breathless as Sakura pushed away from Itachi before bringing him in close, her grin cat–like as she twirled under his arm and let out a loud laugh.

_On a mountain he sits, not of gold but of shit  
__T__hrough the blood he can look, see the life that he took  
From council of one__, h__e'll decide when he's done with the innocent  
On his face is a map of the world__, a__ map of the world  
On his face is a map of the world__, a__ map of the world__!_

Letting go of his hands, Sakura once again started throwing her hair forward, very much like how people would at a rock concert. She couldn't remember the exact name for the dance, but it was fun, although it did make her a little bit dizzy after a while. When she had gone to the actual concerts, both she and Naruto had danced just like she was now. Oh and they had gone into the mosh pits! Sakura could remember all of the fun she and the blond had in them, even though it got kind of sweaty and rough.

_From yesterday, it's coming!  
From yesterday, the fear!  
From yesterday, it calls him  
But he doesn't want to read the message  
He doesn't want to read the message  
Doesn't want to read the message here__!_

Her throat was starting to hurt from singing so loudly, but she didn't care. Instead of forcing him to move, Itachi was starting to move by himself, aiding Sakura in moving to the beat better.

_On his face is a map of the world__…_

Because of how loud the music was, neither of them heard the front door opening or closing and neither did they notice as somebody walked through the house, making their way over to the living room where she and Itachi were still dancing and singing. Well, Sakura was singing, but that was beside the point.

_From yesterday, it's coming!  
From yesterday, the fear!  
From yesterday, it calls him  
But he doesn't want to read the message here  
From yesterday,__ f__rom yesterday__!__  
From yesterday, the fear__!__  
From yesterday,__ f__rom yesterday__!_

However, the music wasn't so distracting that Itachi didn't notice somebody entering the living room, only to come to an abrupt stop at the sight of him and Sakura dancing. Seeing the visitor, Itachi immediately stopped dancing, knowing that he would be making himself look like an idiot if he continued and as he stopped, Sakura sent him a dark look, annoyed that he had also stopped her before her eyes fell onto the person stood in the doorway and widened.

_But he doesn't want to read the message__…__  
__H__e doesn't want to read the message__…__  
__H__e doesn't want to read the message here__!_

Running over to the remote, Sakura quickly turned the music down even though it had more or less finished. Then, almost reluctantly, she looked over at the boy standing in the doorway to the living room. He still looked as though he was in shock, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing or what he had seen.

"Naruto–kun," Itachi spoke calmly, obviously noticing that Sakura was extremely uncomfortable as she averted her eyes and stared down at the remote in her hands, "are you looking for Sasuke?"

The blond was silent for a couple of moments as he continued to look between Sakura and Itachi. Were his eyes deceiving him? For a moment there, he could have sworn that he saw Sakura and Itachi dancing together! There were two things wrong with that statement. First of all, since when the hell did _Uchiha fucking __Itachi_ have fun? Naruto hadn't seen the older Uchiha brother have fun in years. And second, what was Sakura doing at Sasuke's house? Better yet, why was she spending time with Itachi?

Sakura bit her lip for a moment as she felt it start to tremble before she placed the remote down on the coffee table and looked over at Itachi, giving him a forced smile. "I'll just… go wait in the kitchen or something."

"You don't have to leave." Itachi told her before looking at Naruto. "I am sure you can both handle sitting in the same room as one another whilst I go and see where Sasuke is."

"Itachi, really, it's fine. Naruto is obviously uncomfortable–"

Itachi shook his head, immediately silencing her. "It will only take a moment. He will either be in his room or in the gym."

She quickly darted over to the door. "Then I'll go and get him."

Before Itachi could argue, Sakura was gone.

Sighing, Itachi turned to look at Naruto, who was looking more confused by the minute. "Have a seat, Naruto–kun."

"Why is Sakura here?"

"That is none of your concern." He told Naruto, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Itachi had never really liked taking sides, but Sakura needed him a hell of a lot more than Naruto did. She was suffering in ways Naruto probably couldn't even understand. "All I will tell you is that Sakura will be staying here for a couple of days. Sasuke has no choice but to go along with it, as it is my own choice as well as Mebuki–san's."

Naruto's frown deepened. "But _why_ is she here?"

Itachi looked at the blond almost sympathetically. "There are a lot of things that you do not understand, Naruto–kun. What is going on with Sakura happens to be one of those things and it will be in your best interest not to make things any harder for her."

Naruto knew a threat when he heard or saw one and hearing Itachi's words, his eyes widened.

* * *

"Sasuke," Sakura called over the loud music that was playing before sighing and walking over to his docking station, stopping his music.

The Uchiha was obviously annoyed that his music had been stopped as he hit the stop button on the treadmill before stepping off of it and glaring in her direction. However, when he noticed it was Sakura and that she looked quite upset, Sasuke immediately dropped his glare. "Sakura, what are you doing in here?"

For a moment, there was silence before Sakura finally looked up at Sasuke, her eyebrows furrowing as she did. "I came to tell you that Naruto is here." She said softly before giving him a wry smile. "I don't think he's happy that I'm here."

"Don't pay any attention to him." Sasuke told her as she passed him a towel to dry his face, which was sweating lightly. "He probably wasn't prepared to seeing you here let alone listening to music, singing and dancing with Itachi." At her surprised expression, Sasuke simply smirked. "Why do you think I had my music so loud? I couldn't concentrate with two different types of music playing." Then, Sasuke sighed as he looked down at her. "I forgot that Naruto would be coming over today, he comes over almost every Thursday. He's earlier than usual because it's the holidays."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Shit! Did you just say it's _Thursday_?" She yelled before grabbing his wrist and looking at his watch. "Shit. Shit! _Shit_! It's already half four."

Before Sasuke could even speak, Sakura was running out of the room, screaming Itachi's name at the top of her voice almost as though she was being chased by an axe murderer. For a moment, Sasuke simply stood there, staring at the doorway with a startled, confused and unsure expression all rolled into one. Where the hell did Sakura have to go that was so important?

With a shrug of his shoulders, Sasuke left the room to go and tell Naruto that he'll have to wait for a moment whilst he took a quick shower.

* * *

"Oi, Sasuke–"

Sasuke shot Naruto a dark look. "Don't start, Naruto. I know what you're going to ask, but I'm not telling you."

"So you don't know either, then."

The look intensified before Sasuke completely gave up and sat back in his seat, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he did so. "I found her sitting in the road and she was crying, saying she couldn't go home. What was I supposed to do? Just leave her there? I couldn't."

Naruto's eyes widened as he turned to look at Sasuke, but quickly looked back at the road when the car swerved slightly due to the snow and ice. "What do you mean you _found_ her?"

"A couple of days ago when I was driving back from your house," Sasuke muttered, his eyebrows furrowing, "I almost hit Sakura with my car." Naruto's eyes immediately flashed to Sasuke's face in shock and anger, but once again went back to the road. "She was just… sitting there. She looked so broken and so…" He frowned as he tried to find the right word. There wasn't one. "I don't even know."

The blond looked suspicious as he glanced at Sasuke again. "She looked fine to me."

However, the reply he got surprised Naruto as Sasuke's face darkened and he gave him such a murderous look that it had shivers running up his spine. "Shut up, Naruto." He spat. "You didn't see her that night. You didn't hear her or see her crying against Itachi. She was hysterical and _nothing could calm her down_! I don't know why, but Sakura had been sitting across from the woods for hours, just staring at them and when I found her, she was _freezing_. It took hours to warm her up and calm her down and even then, she was still crying and couldn't stand to be alone."

There was a short silence, one that was filled by the purr of Naruto's engine and the harsh breathing of Sasuke as he finally got it all out of his system. All of the anger and worry and even fear that had been building up from the moment he found Sakura, was finally unleashed. It may not have been much of an explosion, but for Sasuke, it pretty much was a big explosion. But apparently, the Uchiha wasn't done as he continued to glare at Naruto. "I don't care if you don't want to forgive Sakura, that is your own choice and not mine. Mebuki told me that what is going on with Sakura is not something that is to be taken lightly. Itachi knows a little of what's wrong with her, but he told me that he doesn't know much, only that Sakura has to be watched closely."

"Do you think he's lying?" Naruto asked quietly, remembering the older brother's threat and protectiveness.

Sasuke shook his head, turning his eyes back to watch the road, making Naruto relax slightly. "No. Itachi has never lied to me before. If he says that he doesn't know what is wrong with Sakura, then he doesn't know what is wrong with her."

* * *

"We're going to be _so _late!"

Itachi sighed as he turned the corner and pulled into a car park. He couldn't understand how both he and Sakura had forgotten about her appointment with Tsunade. Usually Itachi kept up with his appointments, meetings and anything else of the sort well and had no trouble remembering anything. Perhaps it was simply because for the first time in a long time, he had been having fun? Could that be the reason?

Biting down on her lip, Sakura looked down at the time on her phone. "We have five minutes to get all the way up to the second from the top floor." She muttered whilst her fingers tapped restlessly against her phone and looked out of the window, helping Itachi look for a parking spot. "There! There's one over there, see by the elevator?"

"Calm down, Sakura." Itachi told her firmly whilst parking in the spot she had found. "There is no use in getting so worked up–"

"You don't know her, Itachi!" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes widening. "Tsunade–sama may be great at what she does, but she has a really bad temper. If I'm late, she'll get impatient and annoyed."

Itachi had to refrain from chuckling as he pulled the keys out of the ignition and got out of the car, locking it as he followed Sakura, who was all but jogging over to the elevator. In a way, Tsunade sounded quite a lot like Sakura. Well, the bad temper and impatient part, anyway.

Soon enough, the two of them were on the second from the top floor, Sakura completely breathless as she ran to the front desk, checking her phone every two seconds as she did so. She was three minutes late. Damn it! Tsunade was going to murder her. She was going to throw Sakura out of her window and say that it had been an accident, that Sakura had jumped and there had been nothing the blonde could do to stop her.

Giving a quick nod to the assistant outside of Tsunade's office, Sakura continued her run to the room, but paused as she remembered Itachi behind her. For a moment, uncertainty flashed across her features as she glanced at him, but Itachi seemed to understand as he nodded once.

"I'll wait for you out here, Sakura."

Grateful that he wouldn't be listening to the things she would be telling Tsunade, Sakura smiled before entering the room.

Itachi sighed as he – after signing Sakura in at the desk – walked over to one of the many seats in the reception area, ignoring the look the blonde receptionist/assistant was giving him. As arrogant and big–headed as it sounded, Itachi was used to those kinds of looks by now and had been for quite some time. Yes, there were many of times when he wished they would just leave him alone, but you don't always get what you want.

He wasn't bothered with waiting for Sakura's session to be over, or that she didn't want him to join her. Those kinds of sessions were extremely personal and private – definitely not something you invited people to sit in and listen to.

Having Sakura over at his house hadn't been so bad, Itachi thought as he sat back in his seat and pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was usually so quiet and stiff, so it was kind of nice having somebody who was so lively and energetic staying there for a while, bringing a bit of life to the home. The way he had acted not even an hour ago with Sakura was a way he hadn't acted in years.

When his and Sasuke's parents had died, Itachi had had to grow up pretty quickly so that he could take care of not only himself, but also his younger brother. He didn't want Sasuke to have to go to a foster home or go to another family member because he couldn't look after him (though it wouldn't have been too bad if he went to their cousin). Fortunately, at the time, Itachi had already been eighteen, so he could become the legal guardian of his younger brother. Also, Mebuki had helped out in any way she possibly could, even going as far as to helping him with the Uchiha Company if he needed it.

There were a few new messages on his phone, some of them from his friends whilst others were from other companies and organisations wishing to do business with his.

The Uchiha Company was well–known all over the world and it was extremely powerful. Itachi had always known this, but it wasn't until he took over that he really realised just how large the company was. Not only that, but he had also realised just how difficult it was to keep control and on top of everything, which was where Mebuki came in. With her help, he had been able to keep the company from failing and in thanks to her hard work, Itachi had supported her when she had told him about starting her own company, a fashion one.

"Itachi," A surprised voice spoke from down the corridor.

He knew that voice, but out of respect, Itachi put away his phone and stood up. Nodding his head ever so slightly, he greeted him, "Minato–san."

Minato was Naruto's father but it still surprised Itachi how much they looked alike, yet how different their personalities were. Well, up until lately their personalities had been different. Where Minato was calm and patient, Naruto was… well, he was the exact opposite. Now however, Naruto had been calming himself a lot and didn't scream and shout as much. He was still energetic, there was no doubt about that, but he wasn't as loud and annoying.

"Are you here to see Tsunade?" Minato asked, seeming completely surprised by the thought.

Itachi shook his head, knowing that Minato couldn't share anything about patients or clients here. "I'm here with Sakura." He told the blond, noticing how Minato's features seemed to grow serious and slightly sad all at the same time. "She is with Tsunade–sama."

There was a moment of silence before Minato finally spoke again. "I knew that Sakura had my former student, Hatake Kakashi, as her assistant during school hours, but I didn't know she was still receiving help from Tsunade." Minato looked troubled for a moment as he glanced over at the shut doors. "I didn't think her condition was serious enough to still need Tsunade's help." A small frown showed on Itachi's face as he watched Minato, but before he could speak, the blond was facing him again. "So why have you come here with Sakura?"

"Sakura is staying with me and Sasuke for a few days, as she was uncomfortable in her home and Mebuki asked me if I would be able to bring her to her appointment and sign her in, since Sakura apparently doesn't like coming here."

"I can't say I blame her." Minato smiled, although it looked more like a smirk. "Tsunade isn't as gentle as others and is a very blunt woman. But despite that, she is one of the best at what she does." Then, Minato frowned. "Why was Sakura feeling uncomfortable in her own home?"

For a moment, Itachi said nothing, unsure on whether or not it would be okay for him to discuss things such as that. However a moment later, he decided that it wouldn't be okay. "It is not my place to say, Minato–san. Though I think she may be going home very soon."

Minato's frown only deepened at the look on Itachi's face. Like all other businessmen, he had the perfect expressionless mask. "And why do you think that?"

"Naruto–kun came by earlier," He told Minato and almost immediately, the latter's features emptied as understanding filled his eyes. "He was shocked at seeing Sakura in our home and it got… uncomfortable." Saying that it got uncomfortable was an understatement, but Itachi couldn't think of any other words. "Seeing his reaction, Sakura became quite upset and used whatever excuse she could to leave the room."

The older man nodded before he sighed. "I see. Would you like me to have a word with him?"

Itachi simply shook his head. "Nobody is to know of Sakura's sessions with Tsunade–sama, or the reasons why she needs them, Sasuke and Naruto–kun included. She wishes for them to forgive her before telling them everything, saying that she would rather them hate her than pity her." There was a brief pause before Itachi spoke again. "But I would be grateful if Naruto–kun could tell Sasuke when he will be coming over, that way what happened earlier can be avoided in the future."

Once again, Minato nodded. "I understand." He told the Uchiha before smiling. "You're a good man for looking after Sakura like this, not many people would, giving some of the risks of her condition."

"She is like a younger sister to me." Itachi stated simply whilst looking over at the door. "Also… Sasuke was very hard to deal with when Sakura disappeared and came close to being kicked out of school as well as losing any chance he may have at getting into a respectable college. I don't wish to see him in such a state again and I don't want anything to happen to Sakura."

"You're a good man." Minato repeated as he placed his hand on Itachi's shoulder. When he removed his hand, the blond looked up at the clock. "I guess I will just have to wait until Tsunade is free. There is some paperwork she has been trying to avoid that needs filling out."

* * *

Just like she had thought, Tsunade wasn't pleased with her being late, even if it was only by a few minutes.

Exiting the room with a sigh, Sakura closed the door behind her gently and turned to face Itachi, only to pause at the sight before her. However, after a couple of seconds, she walked towards them. For a moment she had thought it was Naruto who was sitting beside Itachi, but then the man had raised his head to look at the clock and she had seen the difference.

"Minato–san," Sakura nodded politely, though her smile seemed a little forced.

"Sakura, it's nice to see you again. Kushina and I have been wondering how you were." Minato smiled as he and Itachi stood.

Sakura shrugged. "I'm fine. How are you all?"

Noticing how she had said 'all' and not 'both', Minato's smile became more genuine. He had always liked Sakura. She had always been a kind girl and even when she had been going through a difficult time before she left, Sakura had always been polite and well–mannered to both him and Kushina. In fact, his wife had even classed Sakura as her own daughter! They _both_ had – and still do. When she had found out about what had happened to Sakura, his wife had been down for quite a while, especially when she found out their son wouldn't forgive Sakura. Whilst they could both understand why, it still disappointed them, since Naruto had always been the type to forgive.

"Kushina and I have just celebrated our twenty–fifth anniversary." He told her, his smile looking more like a grin when he saw her smile brighten.

"Did you do anything special? Please don't tell me Kushina–san asked you to take her to that ramen place again!"

Minato chuckled. "No, no. We actually went away for the week to a resort. I don't know how she did it, but Kushina had still somehow managed to find ramen."

Sakura's smiled fondly. "Just like Naruto would."

He nodded, his own smile dimming when he saw a sad look fill her eyes before she looked down at the ground. However, before he could reply, Sakura looked up at Itachi, who was silently listening to their conversation. "I know you probably don't want to go, but _please_ can you take me to the mall?"

Itachi's face deadpanned and Minato couldn't help but chuckle.

"Sakura–"

"_Please_," She turned her 'puppy dog' eyes on him and Itachi felt like sighing with annoyance, since nobody could really say no to her when she had _those_ eyes. "I need to buy Christmas presents!"

The reminder of Christmas only being three days away had Itachi reluctantly nodding as he also had a few things he needed to pick up. "Fine, I will take you shopping."

"Great!" She grinned before turning back to Minato. "It was nice to see you again, Minato–san. Tell Kushina–san I said hi!"

Minato nodded whilst still chuckling as Sakura all but dragged Itachi down the hallway. "I will! Have a happy Christmas."

"And you too!"

* * *

**A/N - Don't worry! Gaara will be in the next chapter and pretty much almost every chapter after that. I wanted to show how Sakura acted with others and not just Gaara and Sasuke, you know?  
**

**Anyways, my internet is running like shit right now and keeps disconnecting and connecting and I honestly cannot be bothered with it! So I probably won't be updating as much this week until it's sorted.**

**This isn't my best chapter, but I think, _think_, that I like it. That and it was kind of hard to re-write.**

**The songs, by the way, are both by Thirty Seconds to Mars. The first is called 'A Beautiful Lie' and the second is 'From Yesterday'. If you want to see an awesome Kakashi amv, look at this /watch?v=oruFXsbQVQ0**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	19. From Me To You

**Chapter 19 – ****From Me To You**

It was like there was an itch that needed to be scratched and there was only one person Sakura could count on to scratch that itch with no questions asked.

Sasuke.

The only problem was how could she get him to scratch that certain itch? No, he would never ask questions, but if Sakura suddenly turned to him and asked him – without words – to fuck her, wouldn't that seem just a little bit strange?

Groaning with annoyance, Sakura rubbed her face tiredly before letting her hand fall and hit the pillow beside her. It was the day before Christmas and she would be going home today or tonight. So she needed to get her… _frustration_… sorted out before she left, otherwise she could most likely jump Sasuke tomorrow during Christmas dinner. That would be quite the show. Damn that made her sound desperate! What the hell was wrong with her? It was all Sasuke's fault, if she was being completely honest. If he didn't walk around shirtless all of the time, she wouldn't have been–

No, it wasn't fair to blame Sasuke for her being horny.

It was that damned dream that she had last night. And it hadn't even been about Sasuke, either.

It had been about Gaara.

And _fuck_ he had been good at pleasing her.

Just remembering what she had dreamed about made Sakura once again groan as her thighs rubbed together restlessly, trying to create friction. Her hand was itching to move, to go between her legs and at least try to help with the growing need building inside of her, but Sakura knew that it wouldn't help, not really. What she needed… only a guy could give. She knew that Gaara most definitely didn't think of her that way – he was still against her touching him. Well, he had been letting her hold his hand, sometimes, but that was to drag him places. He didn't have a choice in the matter. No, even if Gaara did let her hold his hand, he never seemed comfortable about it. At least she didn't think that he was.

There were only three other men who she spoke with and two of them were definitely on the strictly forbidden list. The first was like her older brother, whilst the second was like her teacher. Although… Kakashi _was_ rather hot. Sakura slapped her hand to her forehead. No! She didn't even know what he looked like damn it. He always wore that stupid mask. Besides, he was _Kakashi_.

Well it was settled then, wasn't it? She _had_ to go and have Sasuke… help… with her need. It wasn't like she would simply be using him. Her feelings for Sasuke were still very much there. Maybe it could be like old times? Back before she had left, they had always sought the other out when they were feeling a little hot and bothered.

It still left her feeling unsure, though. They hadn't had sex since that time in her bedroom, back when Sasuke had been so rough that he had left bruises. Not to mention she had been rather sore the day after, although that had been easier to hide. However, Sakura could do with a bit of roughness right about now.

The dream from last night once again came to the front of her mind and as it did, Sakura couldn't stop her hand from reaching under the sheets, seeming to have a mind of its own as it slowly teased the waistband of her shorts before slipping under. Sakura could barely hold back the quivering gasp that came from her as she stroked herself, her hips lifting ever so slightly off of the bed. She felt bad for thinking of Gaara… but could you really blame her after the dream she had? He had made her feel things she had never felt before, not even with Sasuke. Sakura could remember how he had touched her, how he had locked gazes with her with those intense, icy blue eyes as he teased her with his tongue, making her–

The sound of somebody knocking on her door nearly made her scream in shock as she quickly ripped her hand out from under the covers, almost hitting herself in the face with it. She did, however, mentally_ scream_ at herself. Since when the hell was she so horny that she would touch herself in somebody else's house? And whilst she was thinking about her friend, no less?

"Sakura?"

She bit her lip. It was Itachi. "Yeah?"

"Are you decent?"

Quickly checking herself and around the room, Sakura repeated her reply of "Yeah."

It felt like Itachi was entering the room slowly, hesitantly. When he did push the door open, though, Sakura found out why. Itachi had brought her breakfast in bed. Sometimes she wished that Sasuke would do things such as this. It just seemed so romantic and Sakura was sure that it would of been, had she not considered this man as her brother. Damn! Why did she have to think that? There was no denying that Itachi was hot. He was single, too.

She was really starting to piss herself off. What was she, a dog in heat?

"Sasuke has just finished training, so he's down in the kitchen." Itachi explained, shutting the door behind him before walking over towards the bed. "I have been on the phone all morning so I wasn't able to wake you up."

Sakura was extremely glad that he hadn't woken her up. She probably would have jumped him.

Sitting up and leaning against the headboard, Sakura gave him a smile. "It's fine, Itachi. Thank you for making and bringing me breakfast in bed."

"It was the least I could do." He said rather simply, handing her the tray. A smirk found its way to his lips as he heard her stomach growl loudly. Instead of saying anything though, he stuffed one hand in his pocket before pulling out a bottle, making Sakura's smile turn into a frown. Itachi either didn't notice or ignored her frown as he placed one pill beside her plate. "Make sure you take it after you've eaten, Sakura."

Her eyes widened. This was new. Nobody had ever trusted her with taking her medication before. Well, they had, but Sakura had lost that trust not long after. "You're actually trusting me to take it without watching me?"

He gave her a rather blank look, one that practically screamed that he dared her to disobey him. It made her feel like a child again. "Of course."

Huffing, Sakura nodded before tucking into her breakfast, though she paused after a couple of bites when Itachi was halfway to the door. "Are you busy with work today?"

Itachi nodded once, leaning against the wall beside the still closed door. For a moment, he looked much older than he was, the look on his face surprising Sakura. Itachi looked so worn out and stressed and she felt sorry for him. "Yes. I have a meeting with another company who are wishing to do business. It is not one I can reschedule or miss. You won't be alone, though. Sasuke will be here all day since it is Christmas tomorrow."

Inwardly, Sakura was grinning like a cheshire cat. Outwardly, she looked as though she could be sulking as she pouted. "Oh. Will you be here before I have to go home?"

Nodding once again, Itachi smirked. "Yes."

Sakura looked down at her pill, feigning a look of worry. "Are you sure Sasuke is still in the kitchen? There's no chance that he'll see me somehow?"

"No. After breakfast, he usually goes for a shower." Itachi had no idea what his little brother did in the shower, and he didn't want to know, but he was usually in there for at least half an hour.

"Good." She smiled, keeping her head lowered so Itachi wouldn't see the mischievous look in her eyes. She also knew how long Sasuke took in the shower. Once she was certain it was gone, Sakura looked up and smiled once again. "Well, I hope it all goes well for you today. Ring or text me when you're on your way back and I'll make some lunch!"

Itachi nodded once before leaving, smirking at how Sakura thought he didn't know what she had planned.

He was a genius, after all.

Not only that, but it wasn't all that hard to pick up on the signs. As much as Itachi hated to think it, it was obvious what Sakura wanted. He just hoped that she knew what she was doing.

* * *

Once she had eaten her breakfast, taken her pill and was certain that Itachi was gone (his car was gone), Sakura quickly shot out of bed, not even bothering to take the tray down to the kitchen as she ran into one of the bathrooms. She had showered last night, so this was just to make sure she didn't smell and was clean. After all, it wasn't a very good turn on if they smelled bad, was it?

Done cleaning herself, Sakura released her hair (which she had put up to keep dry), ruffling it this way and that before throwing a long sleeved shirt on and slipping a pair of lacy underwear on (she knew that Sasuke loved this pair). She didn't bother with shorts. What would be the point if they would just be coming straight off?

Biting her lip, she pressed her ear to the door, listening as she heard the shower switch off. Counting to two to make sure he would be out of the shower and just about to grab a towel, Sakura silently pushed open the door before stepping in and closing it. However, no matter how quiet she was, it seemed Sasuke still noticed her as his eyes suddenly widened and his hands went straight to cover himself. When he noticed it was her, though, he rolled his eyes and stopped covering himself, carrying on walking towards the towel rack. There was no point in hiding himself from someone who had seen him naked many times before, was there?

"What do you want, Sakura?"

She smirked, stepping in front of Sasuke before he could cover what she was craving. Once again, Sasuke's eyes widened as Sakura pressed her lips to his chest, although instead of moving up to his lips, she moved downwards to a completely different part of his body. Before he could even think of stopping her, she was stroking his member, which twitched to life under her touch and when her lips wrapped around him, a groan escaped Sasuke's lips as his eyes closed and his hand fisted in her hair, the other holding onto the counter for support.

What had gotten into her? That should have been the question running through his mind, but all Sasuke could think about was how her tongue felt as she licked him slowly, how her lips felt when they pressed against his erection before she was suddenly taking all of him into her mouth. His hips bucked and he could feel Sakura smirking, but he couldn't bring himself to glare at her. It was kind of pitiful really how sex made his mind empty of everything. He couldn't even remember if he had any plans today or not.

It was only Sakura who could do that to him.

As he felt one of her hands leave his body, Sasuke opened his eyes and was surprised as he watched her now free hand disappear into her underwear, unashamedly fingering herself in front of him. Her eyes were closed as she moaned against him, the vibrations of her sound of pleasure making him shiver, though Sasuke couldn't take his eyes off of her hand before his eyes moved to her face. Sakura had never done something so daring before. She had always refused whenever he teased her about touching herself in front of him, saying it was pointless if he was there to do it for her.

When she felt that he was just as hot and bothered as she was, Sakura pulled away and stood up straight, removing her hand from her underwear and licking her two fingers, almost challenging him as she gave Sasuke a sultry smile and turned around, bending over at the waist. Seeing what she wanted, he had to hold back another groan and a second later after bending over, Sasuke was behind her, pressing himself against the apex of her thighs.

Sakura sighed as her hands gripped the sink tightly, her eyes looking at her reflection before quickly looking at Sasuke's. He wasted no time in pulling her underwear down, smirking as he noticed which pair they were. Navy and lacy – his favourite. Remembering their previous time together, this time, Sasuke made sure that she was definitely ready for him. He couldn't stand the thought of hurting her again, especially when she had looked so… so utterly broken after.

"Sasuke…" Sakura whimpered, her hips rocking. "I need you."

And with one swift thrust, Sasuke was inside of her. Since he knew her well and considering the position she had chosen, he took her hard and fast. The sounds of her whimpers and moans only encouraging to move faster, harder. He lost himself in her body, his mind focusing on only one thing, something so very primal. Sakura wasn't the only one who enjoyed this position.

Her orgasm came quick and he was right behind her.

* * *

She wasn't satisfied.

Even though Sakura had smiled at Sasuke, even though her heart had been pounding in her ears, even though she had been breathless and her body had been trembling, she was not satisfied. Not by a long shot. It didn't even feel like it had been her who climaxed. It felt like she had merely been a witness to what had gone on in the bathroom and it annoyed Sakura to no end. It had been going so well, she had thought that her body would soon feel that pure bliss after orgasm, but she didn't. After he had entered her, it didn't even feel like it was her who he was having sex with. No, that was the wrong way to describe it. Sakura knew that it was her, but it didn't feel like her, if that made sense. It did in her head, anyway.

There had been no sweet words exchanged, no tender touches or passionate kisses. Sasuke had held onto her for a couple of minutes as they both calmed down before moving away. Sure, he had – without words – asked if she wanted to join him in his second shower of the day, but she couldn't. Sasuke had looked confused and even a little hurt for a moment before his cold front was back up, before he had shrugged and simply showered without her. As he did, Sakura had put her underwear back on before running to a different bathroom, washing herself and getting changed.

That had been two hours ago and since her shower, Sakura had been sat in the living room, just watching television. Sasuke hadn't come downstairs, not even to complain that it was too loud. It felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest even though she knew it was her own fault.

Thankfully, Itachi returned only an hour later, though he seemed to immediately pick up on the change of atmosphere the moment he stepped through the door. He had looked at her questioningly, silently asking her what had happened, but Sakura hadn't replied. She had just shaken her head, making it obvious that it was just easier not to ask. She loved Itachi like he was her brother, really she did, but there were some things that were just best left unsaid.

So now here she was, packing the last of her things and getting ready for her mother to pick her up. The only reason Mebuki was picking her up was because Sakura needed to go somewhere else before going home.

Somebody knocking on her door caused Sakura to freeze for a moment before she continued packing. "Come in."

It genuinely surprised her to see Sasuke as he opened the door, closing it silently behind him. He seemed a little uncomfortable, like he didn't even know what he was doing. Seeing this made Sakura sigh, not really knowing what else to do. So, she decided to wait him out as she moved around the room, making sure that she had everything. You would have thought she lived in a different country, not next door, but then again, Sakura wasn't sure when she would be invited back to the Uchiha home. She didn't know if they would want her to come back.

"Why?"

Sakura paused, looking over her shoulder at Sasuke curiously as he stared at her intently, like he was trying to look into her mind by just staring at her. She really did wish him luck with that. "What?"

"Why did you come to me?"

This time, he shifted ever so slightly, seeming more unsure by the second. Sighing, Sakura finished folding one of her nightshirts before putting it into her bag and turning around to face him fully. "I told you why, Sasuke." There was a faint blush on her cheeks, but Sakura ignored it as she looked him in the eye. "I needed you."

His eyes narrowed. "You used me?"

Sakura's eyes widened, completely stunned and maybe even a little offended. "U–_used_ you? Why would you think–" She shook her head, cutting herself off. She could see exactly why he thought that. "Sasuke, I didn't use you. There's just… There's some things that… I can't explain it right now."

"Try."

"I don't know _how_!"

Silence.

Tears filled her eyes as she saw Sasuke turning towards the door, giving her a dark look as he did. However, before he could leave, Sakura shot over and grabbed his wrist, pulling him away from the door and closer to her. "Sasuke. I–I know that… I know that when we first got together, or whatever the hell we were, that we agreed that it was purely physical…" She closed her eyes, not having the nerve to look at him. "I've always had feelings for you, Sasuke, _always_. I love you and I have for years."

"Then why won't you tell me anything?"

Seeing that he was getting angry and frustrated with her, Sakura tightened her hold, trying her best not to scream or shout at him. "I don't know _how_ to." She whispered, her heart clenching tightly in her chest. Looking back up at him, she moved a little closer, happy that Sasuke didn't back away. "I promise that I _will_ tell you one day, but right now… I'm not ready to talk about it."

And he was most definitely not ready to hear her story.

Not that she'd ever tell _him_ that.

He nodded silently, seeming to accept her decision. "I'll… see you tomorrow, then."

Sakura couldn't help but smirk at the awkward tone in his voice. "See you tomorrow, Sasuke."

* * *

Sasuke hadn't been there when Mebuki picked her up, but then again, she hadn't expected him to be. It wouldn't be Sasuke if he did. Itachi was there, though. When he had told her that she would be welcome to come back whenever she wanted, even if it was three in the morning, Sakura hadn't been able to stop herself from hugging him. She had thought that after today, she would never be invited back. It was such a relief to know that she could come back whenever she wanted.

Now, she and Mebuki were on their way to Gaara's house. Sakura had waited until they were in the car to tell her mother. It just felt strange asking her to take her to Gaara's house in front of Itachi after what had happened between her and Sasuke earlier. Had she been right to do that? It wasn't like anything was happening between her and Gaara. At least, she didn't think that there was. Yes, he could make butterflies fill her stomach and make her feel happy, but it wasn't like they were sleeping together.

When they finally arrived, Sakura couldn't help but smirk at her mother's shocked expression. She seemed just as surprised as Sakura had when she first saw the house that Gaara lived in. Grabbing her bag, she told Mebuki to wait in the car as she got out and jogged over to the front door, trying her best not to slip on the ice or snow, though she had nearly fallen on her ass twice by the time she made it to the steps.

Gaara's car was there, but that didn't really surprise her. He had told her that he didn't like the cold, so he wouldn't really be going out that much. By the time she reached the front door, Sakura was trembling, suddenly wishing she had changed before coming here. It was too late to do anything now, though. Besides, she was only going to be here for five minutes.

Only a second after she knocked, the door opened, revealing Kankuro. Sakura's smile died down before she forced it back into place. "Hi, Kankuro. Can I speak to Gaara, please?"

"He's in his room." Kankuro told her, looking her up and down before sighing and stepping aside, seeing that she was freezing. "Wait here and I'll go get him."

It seemed like only minutes later that Gaara was coming down the stairs, giving her the same strange look Kankuro had. "…Are you in your pyjamas?"

"Yes."

Why did she reply like it was an everyday thing to go outside wearing her pyjamas? Right now, her legs were burning and as Sakura looked down, she almost groaned when she saw they were bright red. Well, that's what she got for wearing shorts during winter. At least her cable knit cardigan was keeping her upper half warm.

"Why?"

He looked curious and the sight made her smile, but she didn't reply until he was standing in front of her. "I can only stay here for about five minutes. My mom is outside."

"Then why did you come here?" It wasn't said in an offensive way.

Sakura fidgeted with the handles of her bag before inwardly telling herself to get over her sudden nervousness and opening it, looking for what she had been wanting to give him. "I got you something – a gift. I don't care if you didn't get me anything, I just wanted to get you one."

Gaara stared with wide eyes as Sakura pulled a wrapped gift out of her bag, holding it out to him. Just as he was about to take it, however, she brought it closer to her and seeing her bright smile, Gaara narrowed his eyes. There was a hint of mischievousness to her eyes that immediately put him on edge. What was she planning?

Before he could even react, Sakura was on her tiptoes and pressing her lips to his cheek. At the feeling of her soft lips on his face, Gaara's eyes widened and in his opinion, she pulled away much too soon, but not before he thought about turning his head to the side, so that he could feel her lips against his.

"Thank you for always being there for me, even when I annoy you."

Gaara could only nod before finally saying, "…Thank you."

* * *

**A/N - Not a big GaaSaku moment, but there you go!  
**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	20. It's Christmas!

**Chapter 20 – ****It's Christmas!**

His cheek had been soft and the shocked expression on his face had been so innocent!

Sakura smiled to herself as she pulled back her sheets, getting out of bed. After kissing Gaara yesterday, she had given him his gift and left, not even giving him the chance to get over his shock. Since then, she hadn't been able to wipe the smile from her face.

When she was a little girl, Christmas had seemed so magical to her. Every year, Sakura would wake up at around five in the morning, open the smaller gifts in her stocking before running to her parents bedroom and bouncing on the bed, singing and shouting that it was Christmas. Never had they yelled at her for doing it, though if she tried it any other day of the year, they would have. After that they would all go downstairs and open their gifts together. Her mother used to record Sakura's reactions, but she had stopped when Sakura turned ten. She couldn't remember why.

Last Christmas had been… difficult. Her parents had been watching her every move and Sakura had been cold and aloof. She hadn't been able to get into the Christmas spirit at all.

This year, Sakura was determined to make it happier. She wanted her parents to be happier.

It was around ten now and Sakura could hear her parents downstairs already. Why hadn't they come upstairs to wake her up? It was probably because they knew how important sleep was to her. It smelled like her mother was cooking.

Since Sakura had turned fourteen, they had all agreed to have breakfast before opening presents. That way, when tidying up the mess made with the wrapping paper and whatnot, they could also tidy up the mess from making and eating breakfast. When she was younger, Sakura had protested, saying that she wanted to open her presents the moment she woke up, but it didn't change anything. Now, Sakura could see why they had chosen to do such a thing.

As you get older, Christmas is never as fun as it used to be when you were a child. Back then, all of your presents were a surprise and you believed in Santa. Once you find out that Santa isn't real, when you start choosing your presents as well as buying them for others, you start to realise how stressful Christmas can be.

"Morning!"

Her parents seemed surprised to see Sakura so cheerful in the morning, but when they saw her smile, they couldn't help but smile right back at her.

"Morning, Sakura."

"How're you feeling, kicker?"

She shook her head at her father's nickname for her. As a kid she had loved it when he called her that. It had made her feel badass. Now, it was a little embarrassing, though she never told him that. "I'm great! What time's Itachi and Sasuke going to be here?"

"Around one," Mebuki answered, placing a plate filled with food in front of Sakura as well as a cup of tea. "Here you go, sweetie. I made your favourite tea, too."

"Thanks!"

Sakura made a genuine effort of eating everything on her plate without her parents having to force her, despite it making her feel a little sick. The smiles that her parents gave each other only made her carry on. Not for herself, for them. The past year had been hard on all of them.

Her eyes widened. "Did we get my medication back off of Itachi?"

"Yes, it's here." Mebuki told her, chuckling at her daughter's expression.

Moments later, they were in front of the large Christmas tree, opening their gifts and as they did, Sakura's smile was less forced and more genuine. They had both gone out of their way choosing her presents and some of them, like back when she was a child, were a surprise.

A gasp caught Sakura's attention and as she looked up, her grin dimmed to a smile as she saw what her mother was holding. It was the necklace she had bought for her. "It's a locket." Sakura told her, watching her mother turn the silver necklace this way and that. "Open it."

And when she did, tears of happiness filled her mother's eyes. The older woman sobbed as she covered her mouth and Sakura couldn't help but chuckle as her father shook his head and looked at the picture inside, smiling as he did. His hand patted Mebuki's knee in a comforting gesture.

The picture was of the three of them, together. Well, there were actually two pictures, but the one of them together was the one that made her mother cry. It was of when Sakura was around eleven, when they had gone away for a month on holiday. They were standing close together, smiling brightly. Sakura couldn't remember a time when they had been happier. The other was of her when she was first born. It had been hard finding that picture, but she had managed to find it, thanks to Itachi's help.

"Oh, Sakura, I love it! Thank you."

* * *

It was no secret that she was spoilt and as Sakura followed her parents outside, an unsure smile on her face, she couldn't help but let her mouth drop wide open at the sight before her when they finally reached her last present from them.

It was the car she wanted, the Volvo C30.

"Oh my God."

Her parents grinned.

"I love you both so much!" She told them whilst running towards the car, her eyes still wide.

There was a pink ribbon wrapped around the car and even though she should have, Sakura couldn't bring herself to take it off. It was too pretty. The car was silver and since it had obviously been brought out of the garage only moments before by her father, there wasn't any snow on it. Well, not yet there wasn't.

"You can't drive it, yet." Kazashi told her as both he and Mebuki walked over in her direction. "You still need to retake your test but when you pass, you can drive it as much as you want."

Mebuki nodded. "After this past year, your father and I both agreed that you deserved it."

Sakura only grinned. "Thank you!"

* * *

Because they were having guests over, Sakura had had to change. So, instead of her pyjamas, she was wearing a dark blue bodycon dress. It was long–sleeved and had a high neckline, since it _was _a little on the short side. To go with it, she was wearing black boots that were about calf–high. There was a heel on them, though it wasn't any bigger than three inches and was quite thick, so they were extremely easy to walk in. They were rather comfortable, too. Both items were gifts from her mother. The necklace she was wearing, however, was a gift from her father. It was beautiful! There were diamonds on it and the chain was made out of silver.

Once her makeup and hair was done, Sakura looked herself over in the mirror before leaving. She had decided just to straighten her hair and leave it down, whilst her eye makeup was a little more dramatic. She had decided to go with the whole 'smokey–eye' effect, though instead of using browns, she had gone with blacks. Brown wasn't really her colour and because of her eye makeup, she was wearing lip gloss that only made your lips look shiny.

Only minutes later was there a knock at the door and unlike previously, when her mother hadn't liked Sakura opening the door, this time, she had no problem with it.

Sakura couldn't help but smile brightly at the two before her. They smiled, exchanged their 'merry Christmas' wishes and made their way to the living room to join her father, since Mebuki was busy with the dinner. She didn't like having help in the kitchen – Sakura had already asked her if she wanted any, though. Mebuki was one of those types of people who had to be in control, who had to have everything just right.

There wasn't much conversation, but when you were sat with Kazashi and the two Uchiha brothers, it wasn't all that surprising. However, despite his empty face, there was a smile in her father's eyes as he watched Sakura whilst she spoke with either Sasuke or Itachi. After a while though, they all settled on watching a film.

"Sakura!" Mebuki called from the kitchen. "Will you come and help me set up the table?"

She didn't respond, only got up to help.

Sakura didn't fail to notice Sasuke's eyes on her as she left the room, making her smirk to herself.

"You're in a good mood today." Mebuki commented as the two of them set up the table.

Smiling, Sakura looked up from where she had been setting down the cutlery. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No!" She quickly answered before chuckling to herself. "No, it's a nice thing. I've missed seeing you this happy. It's been a while."

It has.

* * *

Christmas dinner had been delicious, though nobody was surprised by that since Mebuki had always been a great cook. During dinner, Sakura had sat next to Sasuke and when his leg kept brushing against hers, it took everything in her not to start grinning. Damn! She was acting like a twelve year old girl who had a fan–girl crush again.

That thought didn't stop the pair from sneaking off up into her room when Itachi and Kazashi both offered to help Mebuki with the dishes. It didn't stop Sasuke from pinning her against the wall and capturing her lips with his, from lifting her legs and wrapping them around his waist. It seemed she wasn't the only one who was in good spirits this Christmas as Sasuke's more than obvious arousal pressed against her, making her gasp into the kiss.

His hands were suddenly pulling at her dress, trying to take it off, but Sakura quickly grabbed his hands, stopping him. She didn't want to take her dress off. She couldn't. Not around Sasuke. "Keep it on." Sakura whispered breathlessly against his lips. "Just in case somebody comes upstairs."

Thinking her explanation as acceptable, Sasuke nodded once before kissing her again and unbuttoning his jeans. Once they and his underwear were half–slid down his legs, Sakura pushed her underwear to the side and was barely able to hold back her moan when he entered her.

Knowing that they had to be quick so that nobody would suspect anything was thrilling. However, for a split second, Sasuke could have sworn that Sakura's eyes were unfocused and not only with lust, but before he could be certain, she buried her face into his neck, trying to muffle her sounds of pleasure and not even a second later, the thought was gone as he felt Sakura's orgasm creeping up on her as well as his own.

* * *

**A/N - Originally, this chapter wasn't even going to be in the story and it only took me about fifteen minutes to write, which is probably why it's a bit on the 'meh' side. I think this is the last chapter now where I'm going to try and show you the type of girl Sakura is, since you're all dying to know what happened to her. For those of you who haven't guessed what type of girl she is, Sakura is spoilt and a little on the vain side. You'll have to figure out the rest for yourselves because if I tell you now, then I'll be giving away the big secret! ;-)  
**

**Also, can any of you guess how her relationship with Sasuke works, yet? **

**I'll be updating again in a couple of hours and I have a very, _very_ nice surprise for you all! ;-)  
**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	21. It's A Date!

**Chapter 21 – It's A Date!**

There was a party tonight.

Sakura bit her lip as she looked down at the invitation in her hands. It was a New Year's Eve party and there was no doubt in her mind that everyone had received an invitation. Would they…?

"Mom," Sakura called as she entered the kitchen. When she heard her mother hum, she continued. "do you think I could go to this party tonight?"

In an instant, just like Sakura had been expecting, Mebuki was in front of her, all but ripping the invitation out of her hands and glaring at her. "Sakura, you can't–"

"I won't be drinking alcohol." She sighed, sitting down at the island in the kitchen. "I just want to go. I'm tired of staying in the house all day."

"Why don't you go and spend New Year's Eve with Sasuke and Itachi?"

Yeah, like she hadn't already thought of doing that. "They're visiting their cousin. Besides, neither of them are the sort to party, are they? Not to mention that if they hadn't been visiting Shisui, Naruto would be hanging around Sasuke and then it would just be uncomfortable."

Mebuki's eyes saddened as she looked down at the invitation in her hands. She still couldn't believe that Uzumaki Naruto, the boy who seemed to always be smiling, seemed to always be forgiving, wouldn't give her daughter a chance to explain or apologise. Honestly, Mebuki had thought that he would be the first person to forgive Sakura, but it turned out that it was Sasuke, which surprised Mebuki greatly. It wasn't that she thought anything bad of Sasuke, it was just that he could be very… Uchiha–like. There was no other word to describe it, unless she used his father as an example.

"You can go on one condition." Mebuki told her daughter softly as she sat down across from her. Placing the invitation onto the table in between them, Mebuki slid it over to Sakura. "You have to take a friend, one that you know won't leave your side." At Sakura's annoyed look, she sighed. "It's just a precaution, Sakura. You can't have any alcohol and no doubt there will be a lot of it at this party. Even though it's for teenagers, I know how these things work."

It wasn't that she didn't have anybody to go with, because Sakura had already been planning to ask a certain redhead to accompany her before Mebuki had even said anything. No, it was because she wanted her mother to have more faith in her. Sakura already knew the risks of drinking alcohol, knew that it not only made her a pretty violent person, but it also didn't mix well with her medication. Nodding, Sakura agreed. "Gaara doesn't drink, either." She told her mother quietly. "He said he doesn't like the effects it has."

"Well, then, it's settled!" Mebuki smiled brightly, standing once again. Then, her smile slipped to a smirk. "So, are you and Gaara–kun an item?"

Honestly, Sakura didn't think her face could get any redder. She had had that dream about her and Gaara again last night… had she been calling out his name? The look in her mother's eyes was mischievous, downright evil. Oh God… What if she _had_ heard her moaning his name in her sleep?

As though the sexual dreams weren't bad enough, Sakura had also been having dreams where she and Gaara were together, in _love_. She wasn't denying having any feelings for Gaara, because it was so obvious that there were some there, but _love_? It felt different to anything she had ever felt before, including her feelings for Sasuke, but could it be love? Yes, he made her heart beat incredibly faster (especially when he smirked or when his eyes locked onto hers), yes, he made butterflies that felt _very_ overgrown flutter around in her stomach and yes, he could make her blush. But surely that didn't mean she was in love with him, did it? What about Sasuke?

"Why would you think that?" Sakura finally managed to choke out, earning herself a rather loud chuckle from her mother.

"Sakura, honey, look at your face! And I've seen the way you look at him or when you're talking about him. It's so obvious that you're falling in love with him. It's nice to see you looking, well, not like you are now because it looks as though you're not even breathing, but the smile in your eyes is such a beautiful thing to see! I'm happy for you and I know that it wouldn't have changed your thoughts if we didn't, but just know that I like Gaara–kun and so does your father. He's a very–"

Sakura blocked out her mother as her eyes went wide and she stared down at her hands in shock.

No…

Falling in love? With Gaara?

He was going to hate her!

* * *

Sakura raised her hand to the door, only to lower it once again and frown.

It had been three hours now since she had learned about her feelings for Gaara. She had accepted it, somewhat, and was ready to at least try to act normal around him (or as normal as she could be). Sakura wasn't an idiot. She knew that something bad had happened to Gaara to make him hate getting close to people, that made him hate being touched. How would he react if she told him she was in love with him?

No, she couldn't tell him. She couldn't lose another one of her friends. Not again.

Just as Sakura went to finally knock on the door, it swung open, revealing a blonde who simply raised an eyebrow at Sakura, placing her hand on her hip and leaning against the door. It didn't seem like much, but damn. This woman was intimidating to say the least! It didn't help that Sakura recognised her instantly. She was the woman from the pictures, Gaara's older sister, Temari.

Oh shit.

She wasn't ready to meet his family yet!

Wait, what?

Shaking her head to try and remove those stupid thoughts, Sakura smiled at Temari. "Hi, I'm Sakura. May I please see Gaara?"

Temari narrowed her eyes, watching Sakura suspiciously. "Why do you want to see Gaara?"

"Because I'm his friend?" Hearing how bitchy her reply probably sounded, Sakura quickly added, "And there's a party tonight. I was wondering if he wanted to come with me."

This seemed to make Temari _very_ happy as she grabbed Sakura, literally dragging her into the house and pulling her into the living room. When she threw Sakura down onto the sofa, Temari quickly followed, sitting down next to her with an ear–to–ear grin, one that had the pink haired girl sitting back slightly. "A date?" It wasn't a question because Sakura had no time to answer. "This is great! I never thought Gaara would ever have a girlfriend, let alone go on a date. He's… well, you know. He's not a big fan of being touched and that's one of the main things in a relationship."

Temari once again looked Sakura over. "Seems my baby brother can choose his girls, too. Not that I'm surprised. Everything has to be 'perfect' to him." Like only hours before, Sakura felt herself growing _very_ red. "Hm…" Temari looked thoughtful for a moment, but just as Sakura was about to say something, she quickly cut her off. "Looking at that invitation in your hands, I'm guessing it's one of those 'upper–class' type of parties, right?" Sakura could only nod. "That's fine. He doesn't seem the type to wear them, but Gaara has a couple of suits. What colour were you planning on wearing tonight? I think you should wear red, or crimson. Yes, definitely crimson. Gaara has a tie that'd match perfectly. What kind of–"

"Temari."

At the sound of his voice, both girls tensed. Sakura didn't even dare to turn around and look at the person standing right behind her. Even though the arm of the sofa was separating them, she could practically feel him, feel his warmth. He was standing _right behind her_. Oh God… those stupid butterflies were back.

"Gaara!" Instead of seeming scared or shocked, Temari grinned and stood up. "You're going on a date tonight!"

His eyes snapped to Sakura's tensed form and narrowed. "A date?"

"Yeah!" Temari replied airily. "Which is great, because otherwise you'd be staying here on your own again. As you already know, I have plans and so does Kankuro. This way, you can spend New Year with a friend," She then added more slyly, "a _girl_friend."

"Get out." He told Temari in a rather cold voice, one that made her eyes widen before they snapped down to Sakura's form, as though she was worried about her. "_Now_."

Knowing not to push her luck with her little brother, Temari quickly disappeared, though she kept wondering if leaving Sakura on her own with Gaara was a good idea. Once she was gone, Gaara stepped around the sofa and stood right in front of Sakura, making her look up at him before her eyes shot back down to her legs. He knew that he would be coming across as intimidating, but Gaara honestly had no idea how he was supposed to act right now.

"What is Temari talking about?"

Sakura looked back up at him, biting her lip before giving him a small, nervous smile. "I came by to ask you if you wanted to come with me to a party tonight." Then, looking down at the invitation in her hands, she continued. "It doesn't _have_ to be a date if you don't want it to be. We could just go as friends."

He was silent for a couple of moments. The words Gaara wanted to say sounded awkward to him, sounded weird on his tongue and lips. "…Do you want it to be a date?"

Her head snapped up, eyes wide before a more genuine smile graced her lips. Was that Gaara's way of asking her on a date? Before she could even stop herself, Sakura was on her feet and throwing her arms around Gaara's neck, practically crushing him against her. She didn't know what surprised her more. The fact that he didn't push her away, or the fact that his own arms wrapped around her waist. Sure, he was hesitant and unsure and his muscles were tensed, but he–

Wait.

Gaara had muscles?

Oh God. He _does_ have muscles! Sakura could feel herself about to melt into him, but she didn't want to pull away, she didn't want it to end. He was so warm! And despite how he acted, he was gentle, too. Yes, it was only a hug but this was _Gaara_! Gaara didn't touch people, let alone hug them.

"So, is that a yes?" Sakura asked as she tightened her hold ever so slightly, not wanting to startle him.

He didn't reply vocally, but Sakura felt Gaara nodding as his own hold tightened, slowly but surely relaxing into her hold.

* * *

**A/N – Chapters will be getting longer soon, don't worry!  
**

**And for those of you who will probably be thinking 'well, that was quick' with the whole falling in love thing... Well, if you think about it, Gaara is one of the only people who has stuck by her and has been a friend to her. I also mentioned quite a few chapters ago that he could make her blush, butterflies fill her stomach and her heart race. I know that doesn't mean you're in love, but a friend can't do that to you, can they? Not any of my friends can! Oh _and_ I mentioned quite a few things that made it a little obvious that Gaara cared for her, but considering that he's Gaara, he didn't notice these things. I hope you all did, though!**

**I forgot to mention this on chapter twenty, but I got a review from a guest. I didn't get offended by anything, because they had a fair point and stuff, but it did bug me a little. Just so you all know, Sakura isn't being an attention seeker, she doesn't get around (even though it seems that way) isn't using her friends and isn't looking for pity. There is something that is seriously wrong with her, but she just doesn't know how to tell people because she doesn't think they'd understand or believe her. You'll find out why in a few chapters!  
**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	22. There's Always One

**Chapter 22 – There's Always One**

Sakura stared at herself in the mirror, turning this way and that to try and see every angle of her body.

Her dress was one of her mother's designs. Like Temari had suggested, Sakura had chosen a crimson coloured dress that came to mid–thigh and had long sleeves. The neckline wasn't all that high and it showed a little cleavage, but not enough to be considered trashy since the dress was pretty short. Her heels were a little dramatic (five inches), but not so high that Sakura couldn't even walk in them. They were platformed and black, though the soles of her heels were also crimson to match the dress.

She was nervous about her date with Gaara, but Sakura would be lying if she said that she wasn't so excited she was practically bouncing off of the walls. As a 'just in case' (something she had learned from Ino) Sakura had decided to wear black lacy underwear. However, _unlike_ Ino, who preferred thongs, Sakura chose to stick with her boxer–styled lacy underwear. It wasn't that she was expecting anything to happen between her and Gaara (even if a familiar heat _did _pool in her stomach at just the thought of something happening between them), okay, so maybe Sakura was hoping that he would at least kiss her, but that was it. Honestly, it was.

Thinking she was presentable, Sakura grabbed her bag and made her way downstairs. Her hair was straight, reaching mid–back and her makeup wasn't anything too much, yet it was noticeable. She was simply wearing mascara, a tiny bit of eyeliner and tinted red lip gloss. Oh and foundation, of course.

Gaara was picking her up in about ten minutes, possibly less and her parents had already left to go to a different New Year's Eve party. The one she and Gaara were going to be attending was for teenagers and young adults, whereas the one her parents were going to was for adults only. Sakura didn't even want to think about the kinds of things that happened at their parties.

The moment she got to the bottom of the stairs, there was a knock on her door, making a large, yet nervous grin threaten to split her face in half. He was early! Waiting until her grin had dimmed down to a smile, Sakura opened the door, trying and failing to hide her shock.

Damn… Gaara should wear suits every day.

Like Temari had told her, he was wearing a crimson tie, but his shirt was also crimson and the rest of his suit was black. He seemed surprised by the suddenly shy smile on her face, or at least Sakura thought that it was because of her smile. Without even saying a word, Sakura locked the front door and got into his car. Part of her was glad Gaara didn't bring her flowers or anything else a first date would have, because then he wouldn't be Gaara. It would be like she was on a date with a stranger.

"Have you ever been to one of these parties before?" Gaara glanced over at her and shook his head. "Well, I'm just warning you, like you've probably seen on television shows, they like hugging people and kissing their cheeks. I don't know why they do it, but they do. So try and not get angry, because that really wouldn't go down well." Sakura smirked. "As much as I'd love to see you put a few of them in their places, we'd only get into trouble." Gaara also smirked as he turned a corner, but said nothing. "Just… whenever you feel yourself getting angry, just think about it this way: imagine you're in an important meeting and you want them all to take you seriously. I know it's not the same, not by a long shot, but you get what I mean, right? To be taken seriously, you need to be calm and collected. You can't go around yelling and screaming or hitting or intimidating people."

Gaara nodded. Her advice was actually pretty good, considering who it came from. Like him, Sakura also had a few anger issues.

"Oh and unlike the adult's party, this one will have… not great, but better music." Sakura's nose wrinkled, like something had disgusted her. "They never played _my_ favourite songs, instead choosing to play pop music or slow music." Then, she smirked and turned her head to look at Gaara. "You have to dance with me at least once tonight, by the way."

His eyes widened before they narrowed. "No."

"Please?" She gave him a small smile. "I mean, unless you're planning on kissing me at midnight, I think you could at least dance with me."

_Kiss_ her? It wasn't that Gaara didn't want to, it was just that… well, he had – obviously – never kissed somebody before and he was more than aware that Sakura had. What if he made a fool of himself? Gaara tightened his hold on the steering wheel. Why the hell was he so nervous? He was Sabaku Gaara! He _never_ got nervous, especially about a girl.

"You will have to wait and see."

Sakura didn't think her heart could pound any harder or louder.

* * *

The sight before her had her eyes widening, had her mouth swinging open, had her wanting to rip her own hair out! How dare they come here? How dare _Sakura_ come here? Ino didn't care about the guy who was with her – although, in her opinion, he didn't belong here either.

"Ino, are you okay?"

"Of course I am!" The blonde snapped, her eyes still glued on the sight of Sakura and Gaara. "I'm a happy–go–lucky ray of fucking sunshine."

Choji frowned at the sight of her growing anger. "You do know that means you're cheerfully unconcerned about the future, right?"

"Shut up!" She yelled before downing her drink.

* * *

So far, Sakura had spotted quite a few people she knew and had noticed how most of them were most definitely not happy to see her. They didn't seem bothered by Gaara's presence, which surprised them both, but a lot of them – Ino, especially – kept sending her rather hateful glares. However, Sakura refused to let it ruin her night. She was here on her first date with Gaara and he was actually _touching her_! Okay, so it was only his hand on her back, but it was pretty low down if you asked her. Cue inner fan–girl.

When one of the servants passed them, offering glasses of champagne, Sakura quickly declined, biting the inside of her cheek as she did so. As much as she knew it was wrong, she wanted to have just one glass, so Sakura was silently and extremely grateful when Gaara steered her away from the servant.

Only to gasp in surprise when she was quickly spun around to face him, his hands on her hips. Once her shock had subsided, however, Sakura found herself smirking and shaking her head as she held onto his shoulders. It was so like Gaara to not ask and instead just do it. Then again, for all she knew, he could have asked her and she hadn't heard him since it had actually taken Sakura a couple of moments to realise that it was a slow song that was playing, though that should have been obvious.

"I like this song." Sakura said softly, daring to move just a little bit closer. She noticed that Gaara tensed ever so slightly when she placed her head on his shoulder, but he didn't push her away or tell her to stop.

Gaara was silent for a few moments, listening to the song that was playing. He didn't recognise it, but he knew that it was definitely by Sia and had something to do with her love. The feeling of Sakura's arms snaking around him until they were around his neck was strange. Nobody had ever wanted to be so close to him before and knowing this, he had tried to keep as much space between them as possible, not wanting to scare her away. But Gaara hadn't been able to stop himself from touching her during the night. He was guessing that it was the dress she was wearing. It clung to her like a second skin, exaggerating her curves. The shade of it made her pale skin tone, eyes and hair colour stand out.

She looked beautiful.

And it made his heart feel strange, like it was thumping out of beat. Nobody had ever had that sort of effect on him before. Then again, nobody had ever wanted to be friends with him, or be so close to him before. Gaara felt himself relaxing around her, felt his guards lowering. He could feel himself trusting her and it scared him, it really did. What if she hurt him?

Sakura sighed as she felt the hold on her tighten, as she felt Gaara step a little closer until there was no distance between them at all. They were barely even moving to the music now, simply swaying and holding each other. It felt nice being held by Gaara. It made her feel content and relaxed and just… at peace. How long had it been since somebody just held her this way without expecting something else from her? When was the last time somebody touched her without expecting it to lead to sex?

When they stopped moving completely, Sakura lifted her head out of the crook of his neck, feeling him shiver ever so slightly when her breath washed over him. He was so close that she could feel his breath against her lips, making her eyes flicker from his lips and up to his eyes. She bit her lip, wanting nothing more than for Gaara to kiss her.

However, just as she saw him leaning in, just as his lips were about to press against hers, a hand on her shoulder spun her around roughly, almost making her headbutt Gaara and the only thing stopping Sakura from falling to the ground was his hold on her, which tightened to help keep her balance. Feeling rather annoyed that somebody had just interrupted them, Sakura glared in their direction, only for her glare to drop at the sight before her.

It was a very drunk Ino.

Oh God.

No, no, _no_!

"Interrupting, am I?" The blonde slurred, not even seeming bothered when Choji came rushing over to pull her away from them.

Gaara dropped his hands from Sakura's body when he felt that she could stand without falling.

"What do you want, Ino?" Sakura asked, feeling her unease grow as Ino completely ignored her and instead focused on Gaara.

"She'll never l–love you, you know." Ino slurred and swatted away Choji's hands as he tried to pull her away. "Oi, Choji, go stuff your face or something! Can't you see I'm talking to Gary?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "His name is Gaara, not Gary. Just go home, Ino. You're drunk."

The blonde simply ignored Sakura as she leaned towards Gaara, ignoring him as he glared and tried to move away from her like she had a disease. For all he knew, she could have one. "Y–you know… I hear a lot of things… and… her and Sasuke–kun, they're probably still together." She hiccupped. "Well not together, t–they just fuck, long and hard. N–neither care about who they're hurting. Like when she… when she fucked Naruto and broke h–his heart. It's all one big fucking game to them both!"

By now, Sakura's face was burning with shame, embarrassment and anger and no matter how hard she tried she could still feel Gaara's questioning eyes glaring at her. How the hell did Ino know what she and Sasuke had been doing? "Why are you doing this, Ino? Just leave us alone."

Ino laughed loudly. "Oh, don't go trying to act all innocent a–and like a… like an um… a prude! That's the word. Stop trying to act like a prude!" Her features twisted angrily as she stepped closer and as she did, it seemed she sobered up ever so slightly. "She'll never love you, just like Sasuke–kun will never love her. You're both deluding yourselves and neither of you belong here. Hell, she probably only invited you because she feels sorry for you."

"You've gone too far, Ino!" Choji told her angrily as he finally managed to pull her away, ignoring Ino as she stumbled in her heels. "I'm sorry, Sakura, Gaara. Just ignore her – she's always like this when she's had too much to drink."

Neither answered the Akimichi as he dragged Ino away.

"You're fucking somebody who will never love you?" Gaara suddenly asked in disbelief the moment Sakura reluctantly turned to face him. "I thought you had more dignity than that."

She shook her head, tears filling her eyes. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

Giving her a blank stare, Gaara replied, "Really? What isn't there to know? You were always talking about wanting your friends back, but I never would have thought that you would be so desperate as to sleep with them–"

Gaara cut himself off as he caught her hand just before it slapped his face.

To say that he didn't look impressed would have been an understatement as he yanked on her wrist, roughly pulling her towards him until there was only an inch or so between their faces. "You're nothing more than a desperate slut and I was wrong to think that I could have trusted_ you._"

With that, he released her as though she had burned him before storming off and out of the building, ignoring Sakura as she called after him.

* * *

**A/N - Drama, drama and more drama!  
**

**So... you're all going to enjoy the next chapter. Well, maybe not all of you, but most of you will. I'm actually really excited to get it posted, but I think I'm going to wait until tomorrow so that I can just tease you all with it.**

**Oh! And yes, Sasuke is being an ass, but he also has a reason for why he's acting the way he is, too. Sure, it's not as serious as Sakura's reason, but he does have one.**

**I'm trying to make it quite believable, too. There's no point in denying that our generation is pretty strange and… yuck. Well, most of the girls at my school were and had been and unlike Sakura, they didn't have any reasons for acting the way they did. They just did it because they could. I'm seventeen and I can honestly say that I've _never_ done anything like they have or do. It actually makes me quite uncomfortable!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	23. Finally Getting Answers Part 1

**Chapter 2****3**** – Finally Getting Answers**** Part 1  
**

There was one place Sakura just knew Gaara would visit when he was angry. In some ways, he was just like Sasuke, but in others, he was nothing like the Uchiha.

Sure enough, after over an hour or so of searching for him, Sakura found Gaara in the field by his house. Her feet were killing thanks to her heels, but Sakura ignored the pain because she knew that she needed to find Gaara, needed to sort out what Ino had fucked up. She took a deep breath, her eyes never leaving the woods that seemed to be screaming at her and demanding her attention. Sakura wasn't sure if she was just being paranoid, but she could have sworn that she saw somebody move behind one of the trees.

With her heart racing, Sakura took a calming breath and continued forward, keeping her eyes on the familiar head of messy red hair, but made sure to also keep an eye on the woods out of the corner of her eyes.

Gaara didn't acknowledge her as Sakura stepped in front of him. He kept his eyes on the sky, although they did narrow a fraction as she came into view. It was something that hadn't failed to escape her notice. Whilst it was perfectly understandable as to why he was pissed off with her, Sakura still found it annoying. She waited for a few moments, trying to find the words to say, but also waiting to see if he would say something first. After about five minutes though, it became obvious he didn't want to start the conversation.

"Gaara."

No answer.

"Don't ignore me." Sakura spoke softly, yet firmly. His eyes twitched slightly and his hands clenched into fists, but Sakura refused to back down. Even though her mind was telling her to just leave him, to let him calm down and speak to him when he was ready, Sakura refused. They needed to sort out what was wrong. She didn't want to lose him like she had lost all of her other friends. It hurt just to think about him hating her. He was too important to her. "Gaara, please, will you just listen to me?"

Again, there was no answer.

"Look," Sakura sighed with annoyance as Gaara continued to ignore her, "what happened between me and Naruto was over two years ago and what happened between me and Sasuke…" She shook her head and sat down beside Gaara with another sigh. "Gaara, I love Sasuke so much that it hurts… but I'm also falling in love with you."

Gaara's eyes widened as he turned and stared at Sakura in shock. However before he could say anything, Sakura spoke again.

"I want you to be able to trust me." She whispered, her eyes moving towards the ground. "I know… I know I've done nothing to earn your trust, but if you just _told_ _me_ how I can start to earn it–"

The red haired boy looked over at her, his eyes guarded. "What happened to you before you left?"

Sakura's entire body tensed for a second before her eyes filled with tears. Again, Sakura averted her eyes as she glared at the ground, feeling disgusted with herself but slowly, hesitantly, she started to speak. "There had been a fight between Naruto and Sasuke, a fight over me. They weren't fighting like they usually did, they were physically attacking one another and it hurt me so much to see them hurt each other. I tried to get them to stop and eventually, they did, thanks to Sasuke's brother interfering, but Naruto's eyes were filled with so much betrayal and hurt and Sasuke's eyes were guarded as they always are. We all said some things before I stormed off.

"Nobody knows this part of the story… not even my parents, Kakashi or Tsunade. I'm telling you this because I want you to know everything. I want to know that I can trust you with anything and by knowing these things, you can trust _me_. I was walking…" It suddenly became harder to breathe as Sakura continued with her story and Gaara watched her warily, listening to her story intently. "I was walking down the road; you know the one that leads straight to my house?" When Gaara nodded, Sakura continued and his entire body tensed as it felt as though someone had poured freezing water over him. "I was halfway home when I was grabbed from behind and before I could even react, I was dragged into the woods where I was beaten and… and r–raped." Her body started to shake as Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, willing for the memories to disappear. "The man… he left me in the woods thinking I was dead. At the time, I wished that I was."

Gaara's eyes were wide as he stared at Sakura. "Sakura…"

She shook her head, silently telling him that there was more. "It wasn't until after five in the morning that I finally managed to get up and drag myself home. My parents thought that I was staying over at Sasuke's with him and Naruto; they didn't ask questions since we had all been best friends since we were kids. I didn't… I didn't want to wake them," She sobbed, "I didn't want them to see or know what had happened to me. So I locked myself in my bedroom and soaked in the bath and it was like part of me was hoping if I bathed long enough, I could wash away what had happened. I didn't eat for days afterwards and I couldn't sleep properly. I could tell my mom and dad were worried, but I kept pushing them away because I was scared that they'd judge me.

"I had never felt so alone before in my entire life," Sakura whispered, tears falling from her eyes as she clutched her knees tightly against her chest. "Ino had stopped talking to me and at the time, I had no idea why. Naruto and Sasuke were both ignoring me and everyone else who I thought were my friends also avoided me." Sakura sobbed once again before speaking. "It hurt so much. I felt so down, so disgusting…"

Gaara felt his entire body fill with dread as Sakura lowered her legs and lifted her sleeves. As she did, a single, vertical slit on each wrist was revealed to him. Just the look of the scars told him how deep she had cut and he was silently surprised that she was even alive.

Sakura looked down at her scars, her expression completely empty as she did so despite the fact it felt like her heart was about to come flying out of her chest. She never showed people her scars and always kept them hidden. "I disappeared from home for about two weeks and I did some… some awful stuff with people I didn't know. My parents found me one day when they were out searching for me and brought me home, screaming at me for acting so selfishly. A couple of days later, I tried to kill myself, but my parents found me in the bath." Then, Sakura's features twisted as guilt caused her to cry out, "I still hear her scream my name at night when she has nightmares about finding me unconscious in the bath, bathing in my own blood. When my mom wakes up, the first thing she does is check on me, to make sure that I'm still there with her, that I haven't tried to leave her again.

"I was admitted to a psychiatric hospital." She told him suddenly, lowering her sleeves once again. "Whilst I was there, they diagnosed me bipolar and suicidal."

His eyes widened. "You're bipolar?"

"Yes."

"I never realised…" He mumbled.

Sakura smiled weakly at him. "Nobody did, not until it was too late. Being… Being attacked that night was the final push, though something else triggered the disorder long before it. Even after my mom saved me, I still wanted to die. I had tried starving myself, but they fed me through a drip and monitored my meals. I tried hanging myself, but they made sure somebody was watching me at all times." Sakura ran a shaking hand through her hair before wrapping her arms around herself. "I felt like I was suffocating, like I couldn't breathe. My mom… she didn't want me to come home until she knew for sure that I wouldn't try to kill myself again. I was never allowed any visitors except for my parents. I had to be watched as I ate, whilst I bathed.

"It was so hard," She whispered, the tears falling once again. "But then… the thought of breaking out of that place, of seeing the outside world and actually _feel_ the wind on my face or in my hair… it was enough to keep me going. I dreamt about getting better, getting out of there and seeing all my friends again, spending time with my family where I _don't_ have to be watched." A small smile graced her lips as Sakura looked up at the stars. "But the thing I dreamt about most was speaking to Sasuke, Naruto and Ino again. I wanted to tell them I was sorry for everything I had done to them, that I love them all so, _so_ much."

Another sob tore out of Sakura's chest as she squeezed her eyes shut. "Then when I finally do start to get my life back on track, when I'm finally allowed to socialise once again, I'm torn down by Ino in front of everyone." Sakura opened her eyes and looked down at the ground sadly. "It had taken me so long to work up the nerve to step out of my house, to think that it would be safe for me to do so."

"When were you discharged?" Gaara asked quietly.

"Four months after being sectioned."

He looked at her, for once lowering his guards and sharing his emotions with her. In his eyes, Sakura could see that he wanted to help her, wanted to take all her pain and hurt away and in response, she smiled.

"You should tell them." Gaara said suddenly. "Sasuke, Naruto and Ino all deserve to know."

Sakura scoffed and a bitter smile curved her lips. "Yeah, because I haven't tried so many times to explain myself to them, to apologise. Sasuke… at least he seemed to somewhat accept my apology, but he still doesn't know. I couldn't find a way to tell him. Naruto won't even look at me for longer than five seconds, let alone hear me out and every time I see Ino, she's trying to tear me down." Sakura shook her head softly. "I forgot how mean Ino could be when her anger and hatred was turned on you."

Gaara didn't reply. Instead he hesitantly moved his hand to the side until he found Sakura's. At first, she had been startled when she felt his fingers brush against hers, since he wasn't one who liked to be touched and after tonight at the party and after listening to what had happened to her, she had been certain that Gaara wouldn't want to touch her. But as his hand finally closed over hers, he gave a small, short squeeze, making it feel like a weight had been lifted off of her chest.

"Thank you." He said quietly after a couple of minutes of silence.

She looked away from the stars and over to Gaara, who was avoiding making eye contact. "Thank you for what?"

The red haired boy finally looked away and caught her gaze. "Thank you for telling me everything." Then, almost hesitantly, Gaara added, "I don't feel as alone anymore."

Sakura's eyes widened. "What?"

"There have been many times where I came close to committing suicide, but every time, my siblings would stop me. Sometimes they use words, but other times they use force."

"Gaara," She spoke his name softly and when he looked up at her, Sakura looked down at their joined hands as she asked, "if you don't mind my asking, why _are_ you so against people touching you?"

Gaara's body tensed slightly, but as he remembered how much Sakura had told him, he decided that telling her some parts of his past wouldn't be too bad. "My mother died during childbirth," He answered quietly and Sakura scooted a bit closer to hear him properly, "and my father blamed me for her death. As I grew up, my father would drink and take his anger out on me. Temari would always try to hide me during the night before he came in, even going as far as to hide me in her room, but he always found me."

Sakura squeezed his hand reassuringly and Gaara looked down at their hands, seeming almost fascinated by them before he continued. "My father had soon grown tired of trying to find me at night and made sure that Temari would no longer, in his words, 'play such childish games'. He then hit Temari, but Kankuro got involved before he could hit her again.

"After that night, both Temari and Kankuro avoided me. They would cook my meals, but otherwise tell me to go away. I grew up lonely and as I hit a certain age, my loneliness turned into anger. When my father hit me, I hit back. It didn't matter that he was so much stronger than me, I was tired of sitting around, waiting for my next beating."

Gaara seemed to take another deep breath before he spoke. "Then one day not long after my thirteenth birthday, my siblings and I woke up to find our father gone."

"Just like that? And he never tried to contact you guys?" She asked softly, her free hand tracing small patterns on his as she once again unconsciously moved a little closer, seeking his warmth as the cold air made her shiver.

"I don't know about Temari and Kankuro, but he never tried to contact me – though that's not very surprising."

Sakura smiled sadly as she hesitantly placed her head onto Gaara's shoulder. He stiffened slightly at the contact, but after a couple of moments, he started to relax. "We're a pretty messed up pair, aren't we?" She joked lightly.

Gaara looked down at the head of pink hair before smirking. "We are." Then, he frowned as he looked over his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Sakura spoke quietly as she lifted her head a little and followed his glare.

"I thought I heard something." Gaara murmured to her before turning back around, only to freeze when he saw how close Sakura was. When had she gotten so close? Or, more importantly, when had her lips gotten so close to his?

It seemed as though Sakura was having the same thoughts as she looked away from his eyes to look at his lips. Her tongue wet her lips a little as Gaara moved closer, almost completely closing the distance between them. The look in her eyes was doing strange things to him, things he couldn't even understand. Hesitantly, his free hand lifted up to her face, brushing away her remaining tears. Then, his gaze drifted lower until he was looking at her full lips. As though sensing his gaze, Sakura bit her lower lip slightly, the small movement nearly causing his breath to catch.

The feeling of his lips finally pressing against hers made Sakura feel as though her body was tingling. Gaara's hand was softly cradling her head, moving it slightly for better access as he added a little more pressure to their kiss.

Her mind had come to a screeching halt the second their lips had connected. Part of her was screaming as though she was some annoying fan girl whilst the other part of her had fainted. All Sakura could actually think as she lifted her hand and grabbed the back of his head, as her lips moved against his, was that it felt right. The feeling of being caged in, of being dominated, it didn't come to her like it had with Sasuke. Whilst she knew for a fact that the Uchiha would never hurt her, he could still be a pretty dominating person and always liked to be in control. With Gaara, even though he was the same, he seemed to be taking things slowly for her, like he wasn't pressuring her into anything. It felt like he was giving just as much as he was taking, if not more.

As they parted for air, Sakura pressed her forehead against Gaara's, their breaths mingling. She couldn't stop the goofy smile that graced her lips and Gaara couldn't stop his eyes from flickering between her lips and her eyes, wanting nothing more than to feel them again.

However, the moment was ruined when he once again heard something that caused his entire body to stiffen as he pulled away and glared at nothing in particular.

"Gaara," Sakura spoke quietly, her brows knitting together as the feeling of unease washed over her like it had earlier. She tightened her hold on his hand as she followed his line of sight once again. "You're freaking me out, what are you doing?"

Gaara kept his eyes on the area whilst he answered her. "I thought I could hear something again."

Sakura slowly lowered her other hand from his hair as it joined the one holding his hand and with a gentle pull on his hand and arm, she grabbed his attention. "Let's just get out of here." She spoke quietly, making an effort to keep her voice low.

He nodded once before standing and as they walked away from the fields, their hands stayed connected. Gaara didn't even seem to notice as he tightened his hold ever so slightly and pulled her closer.

* * *

As they parted to take a breath, Sakura smiled. Kissing Gaara was like nothing she had ever felt before, which was the reason why she kept kissing him, wanting to feel the same thing again and again. It was like her body was floating and honestly, this was probably the happiest she had felt in a_ long_ time.

He was staring at her lips again, which only made Sakura's smile widen. Apparently, Gaara enjoyed kissing her too as he once again closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers, making her heart soar as Sakura kissed him back. The hand that was resting just above her knee squeezed softly whilst the other one that was cupping her face tilted her head ever so slightly so that Gaara could deepen the kiss.

Then, Sakura felt his tongue slowly lick her bottom lip, asking for entrance. You wouldn't have thought that Gaara had had his first kiss only an hour or two ago with the way he was currently kissing her and she couldn't stop the low moan that escaped her as their tongues glided, stroking the other's in a soft caress. It seemed Gaara liked her reaction as he pressed a little harder, but at the same time, restrained himself. He wasn't so lost in the moment to forget what Sakura had told him earlier and he didn't want to push her too far, too soon.

With that thought, Gaara reluctantly pulled away before things could go too far but as he did, he couldn't help the small smirk that graced his lips when he saw her soft blush and heard her quickened breathing.

"You two are adorable!"

At the sound of the voice, both Sakura and Gaara tensed before the latter turned to glare at his sister, Temari, who was currently standing in the doorway with the biggest grin either of them had ever seen before on her face.

"What do you want?" He demanded before frowning ever so slightly at her choice of outfit. "Why are you dressed like that?"

Temari looked down at her outfit, her grin fading to a soft smile that made Sakura's breath catch at the tenderness of it, knowing immediately where she had been. Usually Temari was pretty tomboy–ish, but tonight she had really put in an effort. She was wearing a strapless, black dress that came to just above her knees and to go with the dress she had on a pair of nude heels that were at least four inches high. Her hair was in the usual style, but it seemed different somehow. Perhaps it was because of her makeup? Sakura wasn't sure, but there was only one word that came to mind as she saw the blonde.

"You look beautiful!" Sakura smiled. "Were you on a date?"

Almost immediately, Gaara frowned and when Temari _blushed_, his frown only deepened.

"Yes, I was." Temari's smile continued to soften, surprising them both. "He was so nice."

Sakura sat up straighter, but didn't move so much that Gaara's hand on her side as well as her knee could slip away. "Who is he?"

The blonde seemed hesitant as she bit her lip ever so slightly before sitting down opposite Sakura and Gaara on the other sofa. "You know him, actually." She told her slowly. "And for now, we want to keep our relationship a secret. Not only because I'm older and he's only just turned eighteen, but because we don't want people getting involved."

"I know the feeling! Having people getting involved in your business all the time pisses me off." Sakura groaned before leaning on her side against the sofa and smiling. "So if I know him and he's only just turned eighteen, I'm guessing he goes to our school, possibly in our year, too?"

This time Temari nodded and her hesitance seemed to grow. "He said you used to be friends, but then you just left and didn't tell anyone."

Immediately, Sakura sat back up, looking at Temari with wide eyes as she asked slowly, "Temari, who are you seeing?"

"Nara Shikamaru," Temari answered, but then tensed when Sakura started to laugh. Eyes narrowing and fists clenching, Temari then demanded, "And what is so funny about that?"

Gaara looked confused as he looked from Sakura to Temari, the former having stopped laughing, but still chuckling when she spoke again. "There's nothing funny about it, I–I just wouldn't have pictured _Shikamaru_ having a girlfriend. He's so lazy and everything is troublesome to him!"

Temari relaxed and couldn't help but chuckle as she leaned back against the arm rest. "Anyway, when did this," She gestured between Sakura and Gaara, smirking when the former blushed, "happen? Wasn't it your first date tonight?"

Looking up at Gaara, Sakura raised an eyebrow, not knowing how to answer the question. Yes, it had been their first date and they hadn't kissed or anything until tonight, but in a way, it felt like they had been together for a while. Lifting her legs off of Gaara's lap so that she could turn and fully face Temari, Sakura continued to think. After a couple of moments of not being able to think of anything, however, Sakura looked over her shoulder at Gaara, who looked just as thoughtful as she did.

Seeing their struggle, Temari smiled. "I understand." She told them, surprising them both. "It's kind of like that with me and Shikamaru. We met about a year ago at some café when I needed to stop off for change and he was in there waiting for a friend. After we met that day, we just started talking and things went from there. It was our first date tonight, too, but we were so comfortable with one another that it felt more like we were in a relationship, not just on a date."

"Shikamaru has always been a nice guy." Sakura smiled, her features softening as memories came to her mind. "He may be lazy, but when somebody needs him, he's always there."

"What happened between you guys?" She asked curiously, her eyebrows knitting together. "He never really told me much, just that one day it was like you were a completely different person and then a year later you disappeared. I mean, if Shikamaru and everyone else were your friends, why would you leave them?"

Finally having enough of his sister and knowing how much of a sore topic this was for Sakura, Gaara glared at her, "Enough, Temari!"

Another smirk graced her lips as Temari stood, giving them both a knowing look. "Okay, I can take a hint." She told the two as she walked over to the stairs. "And if you guys, you know, do _it_ then try to keep it down, yeah? I'd rather not hear my baby brother having sex."

Sakura wasn't sure if her face could get any redder and she didn't dare look at Gaara, who was currently glaring at his sister so intensely, Sakura was surprised Temari didn't explode into flames as she disappeared up the stairs. After a couple of moments, however, she turned to face him and smiled softly at the slightly troubled look on his face.

Raising a hand and cupping his cheek, Sakura looked at him seriously when he caught her gaze curiously. "Don't worry about what Temari said." She told him, her smile only growing as Gaara frowned. Then, her smile faded into a smirk, making his eyes narrow before Sakura moved her head forward, her teeth grazing his earlobe and sending shivers down in his spine. "When the time's right, I'll make sure I have a free house. That way, we can be as loud as we want to be."

There was a soft groan before her lips were captured in a fiery kiss that took her breath away.

* * *

"What about Sasuke?"

Looking over at Gaara as he grabbed them both a drink out of the fridge, Sakura frowned. She hadn't forgotten about Sasuke and after kissing Gaara the way she had, Sakura felt a little guilty. Lately, Sasuke had been so nice to her. Sure, he didn't speak to her at school, which kind of hurt, but at the same time, she could understand why. Naruto had been his best friend for such a long time and it wouldn't be fair to dump him for her. But then again… she had been both of their best friends since they were all kids…

Taking the bottle from Gaara, Sakura crossed her legs and leaned back until her head was resting on the cupboard. "I don't know. I don't know what to do, but I know that I don't want to hurt him. Sasuke has been so kind to me, especially with letting me stay at his house for a couple of days." Sakura frowned for a moment. "Well, it was Itachi who let me stay… but you get what I mean, don't you?"

Silently, he nodded and took a slow sip of his drink before putting it down on the counter and turning to face Sakura, who was seated on the same counter. "I understand if you would rather be with him, Sasuke is your first lo–"

Her frown deepened. "Didn't you hear me earlier, Gaara? I love the both of you! I just… I don't know what to do. I'm so confused."

As Sakura placed her head into her hands and sighed, he placed his hands over hers, removing them from her face so that he could look at her. "Take all the time you need to decide, Sakura. I'll wait for you. All I ask of you is that you're completely honest with me and tell me the moment you decide."

"I don't want to hurt either of you." She whispered sadly, her forehead pressing to Gaara's as her eyes slid closed.

"I know." He said just as quietly.

He didn't want to be hurt again, either.

* * *

**A/N - So nothing important happened this chapter, wouldn't you agree? ;-)  
**

**So you finally know what happened! Are you happy now?**

**I wrote another story that was about bipolar disorder (**_Better In Time_**) and, like that story, I wanted to send out a message of sorts. If you can't figure out what it is right now, you'll figure it out in the next ten or so chapters. I don't know what having a mental illness is like, but I do have family members who have them and I know how serious and dangerous they can be. If you feel like I'm doing a bad job at writing Sakura with bipolar disorder as well as being suicidal and a rape victim, then please tell me!**

**Oh and for those of you who caught what Sakura said about her being raped being the final push and that something else had triggered her bipolar long before that… unless you can guess what happened, you'll find out in about six or seven chapters.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	24. Finally Getting Answers Part 2

**Chapter 24 – Finally Getting Answers Part 2  
**

"What's your favourite band?"

Gaara looked up at the ceiling as he thought about it and as he did, Sakura lifted her head from his chest to look at him. It had been without words that he had asked her to stay the night. Well, more like he had glared at her when she said she would have to go soon and _then_, without words, taken her to his room, silently telling her that he would not let her out at this time of night _alone_.

"Three Days Grace," He answered after a couple of moments.

"Really?" Sakura asked. Using her forearms to hold herself up, she leaned over him so that she could see him better. "I would have thought you would be listening to something heavier and more… metal."

He simply shook his head. "What about you?"

"Thirty Seconds to Mars." Sakura answered without having to think about it. "I've loved them for years."

"Good choice." He commented.

There was a moment of silence as Sakura lowered herself against him, her head resting on his chest. The sound of his steady heartbeat relaxed her and made her close her eyes in content, a soft sigh escaping her when she felt his arms hesitantly wrapping around her. His hesitance wasn't exactly uncalled for, so Sakura didn't bother telling him he didn't need to be so hesitant with her. Instead, she snuggled against him, inwardly giggling at the thought of Gaara being the type who cuddled as he certainly didn't seem it.

Then, the sound of moaning caused her eyes to widen. "What the…"

It seemed Gaara wasn't too surprised, although the back of his neck (which was thankfully hidden from view due to his position and the dark) burned at the sound. "It seems Kankuro brought home a girl."

Sakura couldn't help but blush as the moaning grew louder. "Um…" She mumbled awkwardly, burying her face into his chest. "Do you usually… just have to… you know… lie here and listen?"

Gaara shook his head. "I normally put my earphones on."

Which wouldn't be fair of him to do now, considering there were two of them and Sakura would be left to listen to Kankuro and his date.

"Oh." She replied before shifting ever so slightly.

Whilst Sakura was by no means a voyeur, she _was _human and the sound of pleasure was causing her cheeks to burn as well as a familiar, flickering fire within her coming to life and it didn't help that she was lying pretty much on top of Gaara. She wanted to talk to him, to try and drown out the moans and grunts, but she was worried her voice would fail her. How Gaara wasn't affected by the sounds was beyond her.

After shifting for the seventh time, it seemed Gaara had realised what was wrong. "The walls are quite thin… are they making you uncomfortable?"

Perhaps not.

How could she tell him that it was turning her on? How could she tell Gaara that she wanted him to make her moan like the woman next door? Sakura almost groaned as the image came to her, torturing her with the sight of Gaara on top of her, below her, behind her, _inside_ of her. Swallowing hard, Sakura shook her head but kept it against his chest, refusing to look up at him.

"Nope."

With a sigh, Gaara lifted her head with his hands, only to pause at the lustful gaze in her eyes and the blush on her cheeks. "They're–"

Sakura groaned with humiliation. "I know. I'm a disgusting pervert!"

Chuckling, Gaara pulled her up so that her lips were barely an inch from his. It surprised him that she would be turned on, especially since he thought that, like other rape victims, she would be uncomfortable around such things. But then just as he thought that, what she had said earlier came to mind, the part about disappearing for two weeks and doing things with people she didn't know. He had heard that some rape victims often tried to push away their pain by sleeping with another, or something like that, but he didn't know if that was true or not. Either way, he wasn't going to risk hurting her.

"Hardly," He murmured against her lips. "It just makes you human."

She bit her lip softly at the look in his eyes. "I know what you're thinking." She mumbled just as quietly, her eyes lowering so that they weren't connected with his. "After what I told you, you expect me to be all… I don't know… you expect me not to feel comfortable being intimate with someone. The truth is… I just…" She groaned and pressed her forehead to his, closing her eyes. "I can't explain it. It's like I just… shut off during sex. It's like I sort of know it's happening, but I'm not actually experiencing it. Instead it's kind of like I just…"

"You detach your mind." Gaara nodded, finally understanding what she was trying to explain.

"I guess." Sakura replied awkwardly before sighing. "I still – _obviously_ – get turned on and everything, but the moment someone's… you know… _inside_ me," both shifted slightly at her words, "it's like I shut off."

He couldn't help it. He had to feel her lips against his and if her reaction was anything to go by, she felt the same. It didn't turn him on hearing that, but it had when she said the words 'inside me'. That had been what done it for him and as she said it, his mind had filled with images of _him_ inside of her, of _him_ making her scream _his_ name. However, just as her hand started to descend towards his pants, Gaara caught her wrist. "Not tonight." He whispered breathlessly against her lips. "I'd rather our first time together be… without those two next door and my sister down the hall."

Sakura smiled against his lips and when they parted, she nodded. "You're right."

It made her heart warm that he didn't want to rush what was growing between them, that he wanted to make their first time together special and not a quickie. Not only that, but Sakura didn't want him to feel as though he had to compete with Kankuro next door. It had been half an hour and the woman was still moaning rather loudly. Since it would be Gaara's first time, _their_ first time wouldn't last as long unless he had a high sex–drive and amazing stamina.

"But?"

Her smile grew impish as she moved until she was completely on top of him, her body melting into his. "But I still want to make–out, even if we don't go any further than that."

Well he couldn't argue with that.

Pressing his lips to hers, Gaara quickly rolled them over so that he was on top and in response to his act of dominance, Sakura gasped softly before kissing him with a new vigour. If he was completely honest, Gaara would say that it was a little hard to keep up with her experienced mouth, but he made up for it by running his hands through her hair, over her jaw, along her neck, down her arms and up her sides.

The moans next door turned into screams, but neither could hear them anymore as Sakura fisted her hand in his hair whilst her other arm wrapped around his shoulders, pressing Gaara to her tightly. Her hips were rolling against his softly, but since he was straddling her hips, he was the only one who experienced the feeling of pleasure shooting down his spine when she continuously brushed against his groin.

He growled lowly, the sound making Sakura shiver whilst the way his tongue stroked hers caused her to moan. However, before they could continue, Sakura pushed against his chest, making him pull back until he was on his knees, panting for breath. He was about to ask her if she wanted to stop when Sakura followed him, her hands going straight to the hem of his shirt and pulling on it until the shirt was thrown across the room.

"Much better," Sakura smirked before leaning forward and pressing her lips to his chest, earning a sigh from Gaara as he closed his eyes.

"We're not… moving too fast for you, are we?"

Despite enjoying the feeling, Gaara couldn't help but feel a little concerned. He had never seen this side of Sakura before, so he wasn't all too sure what to expect. In fact, he had never seen this side to _anybody_ before, so he had _no idea_ what to expect. Unlike his older brother, Gaara didn't sleep around and he found the idea of watching others having sex awkward and uncomfortable. He tried it once, but it had seemed so fake to him and the fact they had allowed somebody to record them made him think that it was meaningless, which would definitely not pleasure him. He wasn't saying that he wasn't like other guys, because there had been times when he masturbated (he was a guy, after all) but it had never been to watching or listening to people having sex. Just his thoughts and imagination.

Sakura shook her head and between kisses against his chest that made Gaara's breathing grow shallow, she whispered breathlessly, "No, not at all."

In response, Gaara lowered her back down to the bed but before he could straddle her again, Sakura quickly parted her legs, which, whilst made him a little uncertain, he couldn't deny that it felt good and neither could stop the moans that escaped them as he pressed against her, hers drowning out his.

"Gaara," She breathed, her hands running up his back and into his hair again, "don't be so hesitant. I _want_ this. _I_ _want you_."

Reminding himself that they weren't going to have sex was growing increasingly hard as his erection pressed against the apex of her thighs and with each roll of her hips, her soft gasps turned into moans. With each roll of her hips, she pressed herself even harder against him, making him grunt as he focused hard on _not_ exploding in his pants at the feeling. Damn, what was she doing to him? They weren't even having sex and she was barely even touching him, but he was close to an orgasm already!

"Touch me." Sakura whispered when they once again parted for air.

At her words soft words, Gaara paused before murmuring, "Open your eyes."

When she did, they were clouded with lust, but still focused, telling him that she was still with him. His words seemed to have made her happy as her eyes warmed before her hold loosened ever so slightly.

Seeing that she was still with him and hadn't detached her mind, Gaara leaned onto his elbow before softly cupping her breast, watching her with fascination as Sakura arched into his touch and bit her lip. The sight made his already throbbing member ache all the more, especially when she whispered his name breathlessly. Feeling the need to see her, Gaara's hand slipped away from her breast and towards the buttons of the shirt she was wearing. It was one of his old nightshirts, but it fit her well enough and reached mid–thigh, which was good because he didn't have any shorts that fit her and his sister didn't either. And, at her request, it was a long sleeved shirt so that it hid her scars and most of her hands.

Once it was unbuttoned, Gaara pushed it aside and the sight of her breasts caused his breath to catch before he was stroking them, his fingers moving along the edges of her bra and making Sakura tremble.

"Gaara," She moaned, her back arching further into his teasing touch that was making her skin tingle, "I need more."

He looked into her eyes a moment after he was pressing his lips to her breasts, kissing the left one softly whilst his hand fondled the right. He could feel her erratic heartbeat, but the sounds she was making stopped him from being able to hear it properly.

Closing her eyes, Sakura bit her lip, her hips bucking as her body sought the thing it knew would bring the pleasure she was suddenly craving. Enjoying the reaction he was getting, Gaara's kisses grew more passionate before he growled. Her stupid bra was blocking most of her breasts and he wanted nothing more than to rip the damned thing off of her body!

Feeling that he had stopped, Sakura opened her eyes and she couldn't help but giggle at the annoyed look he was giving her bra before she grabbed his hand, guiding it over her body until together they found the front clasp that held the bra together. She had always found those kinds of bras easier to put on, especially when she was rushing in the mornings.

Her hands still on his, Sakura slowly helped him with undoing her bra, their eyes locked as she did. It was only when the bra was undone that Gaara finally tore his eyes from hers, looking down at her breasts and groaning before his lips descended to one, his tongue swirling around her areola. He was going on instinct alone, on what he wanted to touch, to taste, and apparently he was doing it right, if the way Sakura threw her head and her moans growing in volume were anything to go by.

She tasted delicious, Gaara thought as he flicked his tongue over her hardened nipple before taking it into his mouth. It was like he couldn't get enough of her! So that her other breast wasn't left out, Gaara pulled his mouth away before kissing his way over to it and giving it the same treatment. However, even though her hand was fisted in his hair and pressing him closer to her, Gaara could tell by the way her hips were moving against his that she was impatient, that her body was demanding more because his was, too.

The thought made him a little unsure. Touching her breasts was one thing, but should he go further? Would it be appropriate for him to do so? Sakura seemed so lost in the moment and the pleasure that she wasn't even thinking clearly. Would it be right of him to touch her in her most private area?

Again, sensing his hesitance, Sakura opened her eyes and looked at him with glazed over confusion. "Is something wrong, Gaara?"

He frowned before moving back up to her lips, but instead of kissing her, he stared into her eyes, trying to tell if they were clouded with lust or with detachment. Because of his own arousal, it was getting harder to tell the difference and he wanted to be absolutely sure before touching her _there_. If he did and she had detached her mind, Gaara knew he would think of himself as no better than the man who had abused her.

"Do you want to go any further?"

Like earlier, her eyes softened and Gaara could instantly tell that it had only been lust clouding them. So had her words been correct? Was it only when a man was inside her that she detached her mind? The thought of somebody that wasn't him inside of her made him want to hit something, but his arousal was much stronger than the anger and jealousy so they were easy to push aside.

There was a moment of silence before Sakura took the hand that was still cupping her breast. Her eyes gazed down at his mouth and when she pressed her lips to his, her hand slowly lowered, tracing across her flat stomach until they were at the waistband of her lacy, boy–cut underwear. It surprised him that she wore them, as she seemed more the type to wear girly underwear, but those thoughts disappeared as their hands did.

A quivering moan came from Sakura as she guided his fingers over her lips, showing him how she liked to be touched and in response to touching her, Gaara groaned.

"_Fuck_," He grunted against her lips as they parted and he pressed his forehead against hers, his own hips bucking, "you're practically dripping, Sakura."

The only response he received was another moan and her hips lifting to press harder against his fingers, begging to feel more of him. He knew a little of what to do, but since he had never done anything such as this before he was a little unsure so allowed Sakura's hand to continue to guide him. After a couple of moments, however, Gaara decided to explore by himself, his fingers stroking her softly before adding a little more pressure. Her hips lifted once again as she whimpered, the sound of it causing his eyes to search her face for any signs of discomfort, but all he found was pleasure and by the look on her face, he guessed it was intense. Perhaps she was sensitive down there?

Liking her reaction, Gaara moved his finger further, pausing as he found the source of her wetness because of the loud cry of pleasure that suddenly erupted from Sakura, surprising him. She was so responsive to his inexperienced touches that it made his male pride soar! Wanting to hear more, he rubbed her in a circular motion with a little more pressure than before and in response, Sakura threw her head back and made more of the moans that Gaara now thought were the best sounds that he had ever heard.

Against his sides, he noticed that her legs were quivering and when he increased his speed, they trembled all the more but when he pressed harder, her hips lifted off of the bed, practically begging him to add even more pressure. And even though he was the one pleasing her, his breathing was just as heavy against her lips. It was like the sight of her, the sound of her and the feeling of her right now brought _him_ pleasure.

A question came to his mind as he slowly traced her opening, causing Sakura to breathlessly moan once again, and that question was: by inside of her, did that also go for his fingers, too? Gaara couldn't find the words to ask her, knowing that they would be awkward and might even turn her _off_.

"Open your eyes." Gaara repeated his earlier demand and when she did, he made sure to keep their gazes locked as he slowly, hesitantly, slipped one finger inside of her. Whilst he exhaled shakily at the feeling of being enveloped by warm and silky wetness (and secretly wondering how it would feel to have a different part of his body there), Sakura shuddered against him, her insides pulsing rhythmically around his single digit.

Her eyes were still, whilst not completely focused, still focused enough for it to be obvious that her mind wasn't detached and he found himself feeling grateful, for Gaara didn't know if he would be able to remove himself from her now, not when it felt so… so _right__. _She looked so beautiful right now that it made him wish the moment would never end.

Before he could even react, Sakura was kissing him again whilst rocking her hips against his finger, silently demanding more. Giving her what she wanted, he slipped in another finger, but decided that it would be best not to push his luck, so left it at only his ring and middle finger. Going with the rhythm of her rocking hips, Gaara slowly pulled his fingers back before thrusting them in again and repeating his actions as her moans increased. Whilst doing this, the heel of his hand grazed and rubbed against her clit and the higher pitch that suddenly entered her voice caused him to break their kiss so that he could watch her expression.

Continuing with what had just caused her to cry out like she did Gaara watched her expression and emotions. Her face was scrunched up in a look that was almost like pain, but it was much sexier in his opinion and every so often, Sakura would bite her lip and thrust her hips particularly hard against his fingers. He was surprised when she cried out words like 'faster', but he did as she asked and watched as it drove her crazy, as her hips squirmed beneath him.

Then, it seemed like Sakura just came… _undone_.

Her entire body shuddered and this time, her moans grew not only in volume, but also pitch as her inner walls clamped tightly around his fingers a couple of moments before he felt his fingers and hand grow even wetter than just her arousal, which caused his eyes to widen. He knew that he had just made her orgasm, but he could barely believe it. Had he really done that with just two of his _inexperienced_ fingers? Just how sensitive was her body?

After a couple of minutes, Sakura started to come down from her high as she panted for breath. Her hips were still bucking every couple of seconds, but they too calmed when her orgasm subsided. Slowly, he removed his fingers from inside of her, rubbing them on his pants since he didn't know what else to do. There had been a moment of hesitation, a moment where he thought about licking her juices off his fingers, but Gaara decided against it, thinking that perhaps it would be going too far to actually taste her.

Just as Gaara was about to say something, Sakura flipped them over, pinning him to the bed and he could only watch in stunned silence as she lowered her own hand into his pants. His breath caught as the tips of her fingers grazed his throbbing member, but instead of touching him, her hand vanished from his pants only for them to be pulled down over his hips so that his erection was freed. Once the strain of his pants was gone, Gaara breathed a sigh, enjoying the feeling.

That was until he felt a hand wrap around him and he hissed.

His hands fisted in the sheets as intense pleasure shot up and down his spine. Nobody had ever touched him there before and despite the feelings he was currently experiencing, Gaara could feel a small anxiety stirring within him. After hearing about Sakura's past lovers (Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto), Gaara couldn't help but wonder if she was disappointed with what she saw, especially as she paused.

"I always thought that you dyed your hair, since it's so… red." Sakura murmured as she came back up to his lips, her hand still holding his erection and her bare chest brushing against his ever so slightly. "But it seems you're a natural redhead."

If he hadn't been trying to so hard not to blow, Gaara would have scoffed at her comment. So _that_ had been the reason why she had stopped? Now he just thought of himself as foolish! Besides, why should he be worried about how he compared to Uzumaki and Uchiha? One of them was an idiot whilst the other was an asshole.

"I didn't think you would be this big," She whispered huskily into his ear, her teeth grazing it as she did, "I can't wait to feel you _inside_ me."

Where the hell had _that_ come from? Was she trying to talk dirty to him? Just as he was about to say something, his breath caught in his throat as Sakura stroked his member, her actions just as bold as her voice. Her grip was tight and firm, but it didn't cause any discomfort.

Then, as though the pleasure he was already experiencing wasn't enough, Sakura blew against a sensitive spot on his neck before lowering her lips to the same place and kissing him. Her kisses were hungry, bordering desperate, but Gaara barely even noticed the change as she increased her pace, as she ran her thumb over his tip and smeared the pre–come that had been seeping out.

It seemed as though he couldn't even control his actions as he bucked against her hold, a shuddering groan of pleasure escaping him. Leaning back against his pillow, Gaara shut his eyes and just allowed himself to _feel_ and because of his new position, Sakura moved her kisses to his collarbone, slowly trailing to his chest.

And then, an intense feeling washed over him, causing his eyes to snap open, but he could see nothing. His body was trembling as Sakura helped him ride out his orgasm, her hold growing softer and more gentle. When the feeling started to fade, Gaara unclenched his fists from his bed sheets and released a slow exhale. However, as he looked down at Sakura's hand, he frowned.

"Sorry." He mumbled tiredly.

Sakura only smirked as she threw a leg over his body, seeming to enjoy the lightly sweating sight of him as she eyed him hungrily. "Don't be." Her voice was still husky, still low and seductive and Gaara felt himself shiver in response.

Looking up at her face, Gaara's eyes locked with hers, but they widened as she raised the hand coated with his seed to her mouth. He quickly caught her wrist and whilst he wanted to see what she had been planning, the look in her eyes was… detached. "Stop, Sakura." Gaara told her softly before lowering her hand and wiping it on his pants as he completely removed them and sat up.

"D–Did I do something wrong?"

The worried, pained sound in her voice caused him to pause on his way to his dresser as he went to grab a clean pair of pants. It made his gut twist almost painfully hearing that tone and Gaara couldn't help but wonder what happened to her during the weeks she disappeared from her home. Once he had some pants on, Gaara looked over at her trembling form and found himself growing even angrier at the man who had abused her and not only him, but whatever men had abused her during those two weeks.

Making his way back over to the bed, Gaara tried to think of when she must have detached her mind. Had it been when he slipped his fingers inside of her and she threw her head back, causing him to no longer see her eyes? Had it been when he made her orgasm? His thoughts stopped for a moment. It must have been then because once she had calmed down it was like Sakura had become a completely different person. Yes, she had been confident about her actions before then, but after her orgasm, her movements became bolder, much more seductive. Also, she had started talking dirty to him, whispering about how big he was and how right it felt to be holding him, how she wanted him inside of her.

Gaara closed his eyes and sighed once he was sat beside her on the bed. Sakura was refusing to look at him, choosing instead to keep her eyes on her legs as she continued to shake. The moment he raised his hand to push back the hair in her eyes, the way she flinched made him… it made him _hurt_. It caused his heart to clench painfully as he watched her squeeze her eyes shut and close in on herself, as he watched her grimace as though expecting him to hit her.

A couple of moments later, when Sakura realised she wasn't going to be hit, her eyes blinked open, slowly looking up with her confusion obvious and when she saw Gaara looking at her with unreadable eyes, her eyes widened. "G–Gaara?"

"You detached your mind, Sakura." He told her softly, his soft tone surprising him, but only briefly. Gaara knew that, right now, Sakura needed him to stay calm and not speak to her in his usual dark tone. "When I noticed, I told you to stop and you asked me what you did wrong. The moment I went to touch you, though, you flinched like I was going to hit you."

She was shaking again, but this time, it was because of her tears. "I'm sorry. I–I didn't… I didn't mean to…"

Shaking his head, Gaara caught her chin and turned her face so that she was looking at him. "We both knew that it was a possibility." He told her, inwardly sighing with relief as he felt Sakura relax. "I'm not mad and I think I know what caused you to detach your mind."

Her eyes snapped up to his face, having looked down at his lap. "You do? W–What was it?"

The back of his neck was burning, but Gaara refused to allow himself to show his nervousness. "After your orgasm, it was like you became a different person, but I didn't notice until after…"

"It's okay." She whispered when he trailed off and moved closer to him, taking the hand that wasn't touching her face and holding it between the both of hers. "Please don't feel guilty, Gaara, because you don't need to. I know for a fact I wasn't detached during _that_." Sakura smirked, her cheeks blushing as she recalled the amazing feeling (it was the first time in a long time that she actually felt her orgasm, even if it did stop halfway through). Biting her lip softly, she looked into his eyes again. "It must have been before I returned the favour."

"Sakura," Gaara's voice was just as soft as hers as he stroked her cheek, "what happened during those two weeks?"

And just like that, her entire body stiffened, making him eye her carefully as he wondered if she was about to breakdown. However, instead of crying, Sakura took a deep breath before speaking. "Most of that time was a blur, since I was always drinking from the moment I woke up until the moment I passed out." Her eyes closed as she felt her shame growing. "The first day, however, I remember clearly. I had been walking down the street just… wandering. I didn't have a clue where I was going and then a man approached me, asking if I was okay.

"He was_ so_ nice to me." She whispered, her body shaking slightly. "He made me feel like I could trust him with anything and that he cared about me, especially when he bought me lunch and offered to buy me new clothes, since mine were dirty and disgusting." Gaara moved them back to the top of the bed and Sakura rested her head against the headboard, her eyes looking up at the ceiling with a mixture of sadness and anger. "I know now that it was stupid to trust a stranger like I did, but… you have to remember that I wasn't thinking clearly. It had been a few days since I was… and my mind was playing tricks on me."

He listened silently, just holding her hand as Sakura watched the ceiling as though too ashamed of herself to meet his eyes. Gaara wanted nothing more than to grab her chin again and force her to look at him, but he knew that by doing so, it could make speaking of these things just that much harder. Earlier that evening, she had told him that nobody else knew this side of the story and by the looks of things Gaara was certain she had been bottling it all up for far too long. And considering what he did when he snapped…

"When he found out that I didn't have a place to stay, he told me that I could stay with him and since I thought he was the only one who cared at the time, I went with him. I can't remember lunch or shopping or the drive there, but I can remember reaching the place and thinking '_wow_'. It wasn't his home, but he lived there, said that his boss owned the place and let his workers stay there." There was a tremble that very faintly shook the bed before she continued. "The first couple of hours had been… not perfect, but nice enough. He left me alone for the first hour, allowing me to bathe in private before dressing and finding him in his bedroom.

"I–It was like something snapped in him." She whispered harshly, her hand tightened around his, wanting to clench into a fist like her other hand had. "He wasn't the man I met earlier that day… he was… he was evil… and it was obvious that something wasn't right with him. Even when… when he was pinning me down on the bed… he was telling me I was beautiful and that… that he couldn't wait to break me." A bitter chuckle escaped her lips as Sakura quickly wiped her eyes, catching her tears before they started to fall. "That bastard didn't even notice that I was already broken."

Gaara's hold on her hand tightened, not liking the look of pain and self–disgust in her eyes. Listening to her story made his blood boil, made him want to lash out, made him want to find the men who had hurt her and rip them to shreds, _all _of the men who had hurt her. Instead, Gaara took a deep breath, remembering her words from earlier that night at the party when she told him that to be treated like an adult and wanting to his opinion heard, then he must act like an adult and not let his anger take over him. Sakura needed him to be calm right now. She needed him to listen.

The look in her eyes only multiplied at her next words. "I–I could have… I could have stopped him." Sakura suddenly told him, earning herself a shocked look on his usually impassive face. "There were scissors beside his bed… I don't know what for… but they were there and I could have used them. The thought passed through my mind just to grab them whilst he was too preoccupied with touching me… but… I couldn't. _I couldn't_."

Her words were starting to waver as her shaking grew and this time, Gaara couldn't help but pull her against him and the moment he did, her shaking increased as he felt his chest grow wet with her tears. When he felt this, Gaara tightened his hold around her and whilst it was still strange to have somebody so close to him, he couldn't deny that he liked feeling Sakura in his arms. He liked that she trusted him enough to tell him these things.

"I couldn't hurt him." She whimpered into his chest. "I wanted to. I wanted to hurt him _so fucking bad_ that afterwards, I was shaking with the need. But at the time I couldn't make my body move. It was like I wasn't even in control anymore, like I was simply watching it all happen from another's point of view. Inwardly I was screaming at myself, especially when I saw myself responding to his touches like I _enjoyed_ them."

"It was the first time you detached your mind." Gaara mumbled, though his voice sounded more like a rumble since her head was on his chest.

She nodded weakly. "After that… I started drinking heavily. I tried blocking everything out so that it would all be just a blur. More men came by, even some women, but I can barely remember a thing except that it was painful. I think," Her face scrunched up for a moment before she released a shaky, uneven breath, "I think that's the worst part. That I _don't_ know what happened to me. I want to know… but at the same time… I'm… I'm _scared_." Once again, his hold tightened. "It was around two weeks later when my mind completely snapped and I just left.

"I walked for hours, but I couldn't even feel the cold. It was snowing and despite that, I felt like I was burning up, like I was sitting too close to a fire. That's one of the signs… by the way," Sakura told him a little awkwardly. "When I can't feel the cold… it's one of the many signs I'm entering one of my episodes. I'm not too sure though… it's a little different every time." Continuing with her story, Sakura took another deep breath. "It had been night when I left… when I knew everyone would be asleep and I didn't reach town until morning. It had taken me over eight hours, but it was like… like I just couldn't stop myself to take a break – it didn't even feel like I needed one.

"That's when my parents found me. They had been shocked at my beat up appearance, my smudged makeup and dishevelled hair, the short dress and the ridiculously high heels that I could barely even walk in. I reeked of stale alcohol and sex, too, so they jumped to conclusions. I remember my mom looking at me… and I just thought… '_I've really disappointed her, haven't I_?'. It hurt so much and I couldn't even look at my dad, knowing that he would be seeing me in a completely different light, like I wasn't his little girl anymore. I was just some whore who looked like her. An hour later, we were at home and I was sat on the sofa, my mom yelling and screaming at me that my actions were reckless, stupid and selfish, but instead of yelling back like I usually do… I just… I just stared. I couldn't even bring myself to raise a finger or even mutter something to her.

"I can't remember much… but I remember my parents both demanding that I do a drugs test, since I apparently looked out of it. I think that's when I finally broke. I can remember trashing the house, throwing my mom's ornaments at the walls, smashing things, tearing things. Hell, I even ripped the fucking curtains from the rails and _stomped _on them." Her eyes were closed again as Sakura relived the memories. "I had never seen them look so… so scared before… well, _before_ I tried to kill myself I hadn't."

Fidgeting with the string on Gaara's pants, Sakura opened her eyes, but didn't meet his gaze. "It was after I threw my heels at the television, close to where my mom was standing, that my dad finally stepped in, pinning me down to the ground with my arms locked behind me and his hand pressing to the back of my neck and when he did, my mind detached itself and I just… went limp." Her hands shook ever so slightly. "I remember hearing my mom screaming at my dad to get off me, that I had gone too quiet. My dad told me later that there was a moment when he thought he had killed me by accidentally using too much force or something, but when they saw the look in my eyes, that's when they knew. That was when they realised that something wasn't right, that something bad had happened."

Shifting ever so slightly, Sakura bit her lip before talking again. It was like she couldn't shut herself up, but at the same time, it felt nice to finally have somebody to talk to. "I locked myself in my room, ignoring them both whenever they attempted to talk to me. I refused any food that was brought to me and at one point, my dad tried force feeding me, literally pinning me down and _shoving_ food into my mouth, but my mom starting yelling at him the moment she found us, screaming that he was making things worse." Her lips started trembling as her eyes watered once again. "I was a strain on their relationship… they barely even spoke to each other anymore and when they did, they were arguing and every time they argued, it was always about me.

"I heard them arguing one night and it got so loud that I couldn't even think. It felt like everything was spinning… like I wasn't in control of anything, even my own mind. I just wanted it all to _stop_! I just wanted everything to be the way it used to be." Her tears finally started to fall once again as Sakura closed her eyes. "I locked my bedroom door and wrote a note to my parents, telling them how sorry I was and to pass on my apologies and love to my friends, to Ino, Sasuke and Naruto… especially to Naruto."

There was a long pause and Gaara almost thought that she might have fallen asleep (though he very much doubted it because of their current conversation). However when he tilted his head to the side and brushed her hair away from her face, he saw that Sakura was still awake and looking as though she was simply thinking carefully about her next words. By this time, the sun was starting to rise, but only a small slither of light shone through the curtains and that was only because he hadn't shut them properly.

"I can remember every single detail about my first attempt." She told him after a couple of minutes, her voice quiet. "After I wrote the note, I ran a bath, not bothering to completely dress down since I knew I would be found sooner or later. And… because… I didn't want to have to hear their arguments whilst I was… I was…" She shook her head, seeming unable to say the word 'dying'. "After placing the note on my bed, I moved the docking station from my bedroom into the bathroom so that I could drown out their screaming.

"It hurt…" She whispered, one of her hands moving away and running a finger along one of her scars. "…but after a couple of moments, I just laid back… the feeling of drifting off, listening to my favourite band… at the time it had felt like the best way to… to go. It had felt like such a relief. But the feeling ended too soon."

Her features scrunched up as her hold suddenly tightened, squeezing her arm, but Gaara grabbed her hand, slowly forcing each and every finger to release its hold. Closing her eyes, Sakura thought back to that night. "I could vaguely hear the sound of somebody breaking into my room, hear the sound of crying when my parents found the note… but all I could think was '_just let me die, please, don't take this away from me_'. My selfish request went ignored though when I heard them suddenly slamming against the bathroom door, but I could barely even hear them by that time since I was underwater and my music was playing, repeating the words in my mind even when the song had finished… and I could feel myself growing weaker.

"I was barely even conscious when they finally got into the bathroom, but I could still hear my mother's screams, my father's yells for her to ring an ambulance. But she didn't listen to him… instead she was the one dragging me out of the bath… dropping with me to the ground and holding me tightly… she was crying and whispering my name over and over again, begging me to wake up. I ignored her though and hoped that death would come quick, so that I wouldn't have to listen to her any longer."

Wiping a hand over her face, Sakura relaxed completely against Gaara, who made his hold slacken a little so that she could get more comfortable. "You should try and get some sleep." He told her quietly. "You're worn out."

She shook her head. "What about you?"

"Insomniac," Gaara spoke before he could even stop himself.

Mumbling tiredly against his chest, Sakura nodded. "Mm, I know the feeling. 'Cause of being bipolar… I sometimes suffer from insomnia too…"

Tightening his arms, Gaara sighed. "Sleep, Sakura."

"Will you be here when I wake up?"

He nodded as he lifted Sakura ever so slightly and fastened her bra and the buttons on her – _his_ – nightshirt (since they had forgotten about it) before they both got under the sheets. Just as she was about to drift off, Gaara's soft voice whispered in her ear, bringing a smile to her face.

"Always."

* * *

**A/N – Okay so I had this massive rant going on and on in my head and now I can't remember a single word of what I wanted to say or what it had been about. I hate it when that happens! It's like going all the way downstairs only to forget what you wanted, going back up the stairs and then remembering. It's so frustrating! **

**I got quite a few reviews telling me that if Sakura was a victim of rape, she wouldn't want to have sex with people or be touched by men. However, what some of you are forgetting is that not all rape victims react to what happened the same way. You'll find out later why Sakura acts the she does, unless you already figured it out.**

**Am I the only one who is freaking out for tomorrow's episode? I don't care if it's filler. It's _Uchiha fucking Itachi_. And Kakashi. I just. I can't.**

**As you can probably already tell, I suck at talking dirty. I've never really tried, to be honest and I don't really think Gaara's the type to talk dirty. Although... I really wouldn't mind if he did. He's got a hot voice (the Japanese Gaara, not the English dub version). Do any of you watch the English dub? I tried it before, but their voice are just... awful! Especially Naruto's.**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	25. A Chilling Encounter

**Chapter 2****5 ****–**** A Chilling Encounter**

"So," Kankuro grinned wolfishly as Gaara entered the kitchen, "who was she? Whoever you had in your room last night sure was _vocal_ and here I thought you was still a virgin! I might have to ask for some tips."

Gaara paused and stared with wide eyes at the sight of his two siblings sitting at the table and a moment later, Sakura entered the kitchen, still wearing only Gaara's nightshirt and her boy–cut shorts. Like Gaara, she also froze, especially after hearing Kankuro's comment.

"Y–_Y__ou_?" Kankuro asked in disbelief, looking up at Gaara with shock. "You managed to get _Haruno_ _Sakura_ in your bed when I couldn't?"

Breaking out of his trance, Gaara narrowed his eyes dangerously and at his glare, Kankuro shuddered and quickly averted his eyes. "Don't speak about her like that." He spat, looking at his brother with disdain.

"I thought you said they were out?" Sakura mumbled from beside him, her features showing how uncomfortable she felt as she looked at Temari, who was drinking her coffee like she didn't have a care in the world, and Kankuro, who was obviously trying his best not to look at them. "I–I'm sorry," She told them both, surprising them all, "if I had known you were both in, I would have… um… dressed more appropriately?"

Temari waved a dismissive hand. "It doesn't bother me, so don't worry about it. Besides, Kankuro's ex–girlfriends' walked around in less, so just as long as you have your underwear on and you guys don't end up having sex anywhere other than Gaara's bedroom, I don't care."

Sakura's blush darkened as she fidgeted with the hem of the shirt and seeing her discomfort, Gaara found himself feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, Sakura – I really thought they had left. I heard a car leaving this morning and thought it was them." His words seemed to completely shock Kankuro, but Temari simply smiled as she took another swig of her coffee. "One second," He muttered to her before disappearing for only a moment before he returned. "Put this on."

She looked at the black robe he was handing to her, admiring the blood red kanji on the back, only for her eyes to widen as she recognised it and looked up at him. "It matches the tattoo on your forehead!"

Gaara rolled his eyes before moving further into the kitchen. "It was a gift from Temari. Just put it on."

It was a gift he had never worn before. Temari had thought that she was doing something nice for him, getting a robe custom–made with the kanji on the back, but she had discovered later when she had given him the gift that he hadn't like it. Not one bit. In fact, Gaara had refused to speak to anyone for an entire week after he was given the birthday present. Despite that, though, nobody had thrown it out. It had simply been left on the side, completely ignored and forgotten.

Doing as he said, Sakura quickly covered her body, tying the sash around her waist. She instantly felt more comfortable now that she wasn't half–naked.

"I thought I told you two to keep it down." Temari suddenly grumbled against her mug as Sakura sat down beside Gaara, her cheeks burning still from their previous comments.

Gaara rolled his eyes again. "That wasn't us."

At his words, Kankuro also rolled his eyes as he snorted, but it was Temari who spoke. "Yeah, he and whoever he brought home last night may have been loud, but you two were even _louder_! I hardly got any sleep last night and now I think I'm scarred for life."

"We didn't have sex!" Sakura quickly blurted out, causing Temari to spit out her coffee and Kankuro to choke on his toast whilst Gaara gave her the 'are–you–stupid' look.

"Gaara…" Kankuro mumbled, seeming utterly shocked before he looked at his brother with a proud expression. "Wow. Man, I don't even know what to say. Well, actually, I think I do." He looked thoughtful for a couple of seconds, as though he was choosing his words carefully before asking, "What _did_ you do to make her scream that loud? Well, unless you guys were trying to compete with me and my date?" He winked at them.

Temari's eyes flashed dangerously a moment before she was slapping him upside the head. "Don't ask such personal questions, especially at breakfast, you pervert!"

Kankuro winced as he brought his hand to the back of his head, rubbing the tender spot. Then, he grumbled, "I only wanted to know what his secret was."

By now, Sakura's face was the reddest Gaara had ever seen and even he could feel the back of his neck burning.

"So do you guys have any plans for today?" Temari asked suddenly, hoping to change the subject.

Shrugging, Kankuro replied with a, "Beats me."

"No."

"I'm meeting with Itachi."

It seemed the morning was just full of surprises, Temari thought as she looked at Sakura with wide eyes. "You know Uchiha Itachi?"

Sakura frowned, nodding slowly. "Of course I know him! He's like an older brother to me and," Her eyes caught with Gaara's for a second before shrugging, "he's helped me through quite a lot of crap."

At her words, Gaara sat back in his seat, knowing exactly what 'crap' she meant. So Uchiha Itachi knew of her being bipolar and suicidal? He could recall her mentioning the Uchiha allowing her to stay in his home for a couple of days until she felt comfortable returning to her own, but at the time, he had thought nothing of it. Did that mean that Itachi also knew about her being raped? If he did, was he doing anything about it? Wait, no. He was the only one who knew and Sakura had never told him what happened to the man who had raped her. Had he been caught? Was he in prison? Was he still out there?

"Oh, well I guess that makes sense." Temari shrugged before looking up at the clock. "If you want, I can drop you off at your house before giving you a lift to his office in about… two hours? I have a meeting with him later today, but I always go early just in case."

She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "And it has nothing to do with the fact that Shikamaru has a part time job there for extra credit?"

"How did you know that?"

Sakura shrugged. "Itachi and I have always told each other everything and when I asked if he still spoke to any of my old friends, he told me that Shikamaru, because of how smart he is, was allowed a part time job at the Uchiha Company as long as it didn't affect his education."

"Wow." Kankuro snorted as he began buttering more toast. "Who would have thought that a stiff bastard like Uchiha Itachi would actually open up and tell people things?"

"Watch your mouth." She suddenly spat, her eyes darkening with her anger. "You don't even know Itachi like I do. His mother had been my mother's best friend before she died, which is how I know both him and Sasuke. We always used play together and Itachi has helped me through _a lot_." Gaara's hand touched her knee, but Sakura was too angry to even feel it. "If it wasn't for him…" She shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. Looking at them all, Sakura once again shook her head before standing. She needed to take her medication. "I'm sorry. Please excuse me; I'll be back in a moment."

And just like that, Sakura was gone and running back to Gaara's bedroom.

Kankuro rolled his eyes, not noticing the dark look he was receiving from his younger brother. Temari, however, did notice and hoped that Kankuro would keep his mouth shut.

He didn't.

"Crazy much?" Kankuro shook his head. "Just exploding like that because of one–"

A fist to the face stopped him from saying any more and slammed him to the ground before Gaara was suddenly on top of him, turning Kankuro's face until he was looking up with wide eyes at the sight of Gaara. Temari was instantly on her feet, wondering if she should try and get him off of Kankuro, but she knew better than to try and touch him when he was angry.

"You don't know Sakura." Gaara muttered darkly, his hold on Kankuro's face tightening to the point where it had the older man grunting with pain. "You don't know anything about her or what she's been through so if I were you," He suddenly spat, his eyes narrowing even further, "I would keep my opinions to myself. I don't care if you're my brother, I will beat the shit out of you if I hear you utter a single word about Sakura or any of her friends. Is that understood?" When he received no answer, Gaara's hold tightened even more and shook his brother's head roughly. "I asked if you understood me."

Kankuro nodded his head the best he could.

There was a gasp a moment before a hand was encircling his wrist whilst his free, clenched hand was grabbed by a much smaller one. He looked up with a murderous expression, about to tell Temari to fuck off, but the sight of a wide eyed Sakura caused his anger to lessen, made his eyes soften, especially when he felt something small and round in the hand that was holding back his fist. She hadn't left because Kankuro had upset her. She had left to get her medication.

"Gaara," She spoke softly, "stop. _Please_."

Sakura shoved her pill into the pocket of his robe as he slowly nodded before releasing Kankuro and standing, the sight of the pink haired teenager managing to calm Gaara causing both siblings to stare in shock as they left the room.

* * *

"We need to slow down." Gaara murmured against her lips and caught her hand just as Sakura had reached the waistband of his pants.

Sakura smiled brightly, but the smile seemed a little forced to him. "N–No we don't! It's fine. Gaara, really, I'm okay with this."

After a small pause, Gaara pulled her hand away from his pants rather reluctantly before looking into her worried eyes. "We should wait until the time is right, Sakura." He told her despite the fact he wanted nothing more than to close the little to no distance between their lips. Closing his eyes so that he wouldn't be distracted, Gaara sighed. "Neither of us is sure where our relationship stands, so it would be best if we wait before we do anything like that."

"So…" Sakura murmured with her eyes locked on his lips, "does that mean no more make–out sessions like the one last night?"

Gaara had to hold back a groan at the memory of the night before. He was already hard, but the memory of the night before, how they had touched and pleased each other, made his member throb. "Only until you stop detaching your mind, until we know where everyone stands, including Uchiha."

At the mention of his name, Sakura stiffened, causing Gaara to open his eyes to see her reaction. Her features looked pained and seeing this, he closed the distance between their lips, wanting to take the pain away. He didn't regret his words, for they needed to be said, but Gaara didn't like her reaction. It was like her pain caused him pain and he didn't like it at all.

Unlike their previous, heated and passionate kiss, this one was slower, more gentle and filled with emotion, making Sakura close her eyes and sigh against his lips as they moved with hers. His hand was no longer restraining hers, but instead holding it as he entwined their fingers, the movement almost surprising Sakura with the tenderness of his touch. However, instead of showing her shock, she smiled into their kiss before reluctantly pulling away.

"You're right." She whispered softly. "I think we should wait, too. I want our relationship to be different; I want it to be special. I just need some time to think about… about Sasuke and everything else."

He nodded before releasing her hand and cupping her face, making sure she kept her eyes locked with his. "Make sure you think about this properly, Sakura. I don't want you to choose one of us only to realise later that you made the wrong choice. It wouldn't be fair to any of us."

"I know." Sakura sighed and leaned into his touch before pulling him down against her, rolling them over so that she was on top and snuggling into his chest. "I just wish that it wasn't so hard."

She wasn't the only one.

* * *

This had to be one of _the_ most awkward car journeys she had ever been on. No, perhaps that was an exaggeration, because Temari honestly wasn't that bad, it was just–

"So are you and Gaara together, then?"

It was because Sakura had been waiting for something like _that_.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not the type to gossip." Temari told her, though didn't take her eyes off of the road for a second. "I'm just curious. By now, I'm guessing you know of Gaara's anger problems," Sakura could tell that Temari wasn't telling her everything about Gaara's problems since he had told her quite a lot the night before, "so you probably know that once something sets him off, it's best to just leave him alone. You definitely _never_ touch him." For a second, the pink haired teenager thought that Temari was scolding her, but that thought changed a second later. "But somehow, you managed to calm him down _and_ he didn't attack you when you touched him.

"Gaara would never hit a woman," She quickly added, her eyes darting over to Sakura and back to the road, "but when he's really pissed, he can hardly tell the difference between friend and foe." There was silence for a moment before Temari spoke again. "Sure, he wasn't that angry this morning, but it was building. Both Kankuro and I could see it, but you was able to calm him down before he exploded. How?"

Sakura bit her lip and looked out of the window, having to think her words over carefully before answering Temari's question. "Honestly? I have no idea. I just… I didn't want him to hurt his brother because of me. I didn't mean to start any arguments this morning, it's just that I get really protective of the few friends I have left. Itachi has never given up on me, _never._"

Again, there was another moment of silence before Temari asked, "And that pill that was in your hand?" Sakura's head snapped to the side so that she could look at Temari with wide eyes, surprised to find a stern look on her face. "I'm not an idiot, Sakura and like you are with your friends, I'm _very_ protective of my brothers, Gaara especially since he has had it much harder than Kankuro and me." Her eyes slid over to Sakura's, the fierce look in them stunning the younger girl. "What was that pill?"

She couldn't lie to Temari, not when the blonde was only concerned for her brother. If the situation was reversed and it looked like somebody had drugs or something of the sort in her house, around Itachi (who was like a brother to her) she would get protective, too. Sighing, Sakura looked back out of the window. "It was my medication."

They had already been to her house and were on their way to Uchiha headquarters by now. When they had arrived at her house, Sakura had had a quick bite to eat, taken her medication and got changed. She had showered earlier at Gaara's house so that Temari wouldn't have to wait for ages.

"Your medication?" Temari repeated with a frown on her features. "Are you ill or something?"

"…Not physically."

Temari's eyes widened. "You have a mental illness?"

Once again, Sakura bit her lip. "Yes, but, Temari," She quickly turned her head to face the blonde again, "you can't tell anyone. I don't want pity, especially from those who were supposed to be my friends. I want them to forgive me when they're ready, because they love me."

Slowly, unsurely, Temari nodded once, though she knew it would be hard keeping such a thing from Shikamaru, who had been nothing but honest to her since the moment they met and had genuinely been worried about Sakura. In fact, once or twice, he hadn't been able to sleep and was literally sick because he was so worried about her. "Is that why you left?" Sakura nodded once, but Temari could see in her eyes that there was more to it and Gaara's earlier words came back to her, when Kankuro had said something about Sakura and it had angered their younger brother. He had said that they didn't know what she had been through. "Do you mind if I ask what mental illness you have?"

"Bipolar." She replied quietly, not willing to say anymore.

Fortunately, by now they had arrived and as they walked into headquarters together, Sakura's eyes fell on a certain figure who was standing near the entrance, one who seemed shocked to see her there, especially with his girlfriend.

"I'll see you around, Temari." Sakura smiled at her. "And thank you for the ride."

Then, she smiled politely at Shikamaru before hurrying over to the elevator.

"Why were you with Sakura?"

Temari looked up at her boyfriend, wanting nothing more than to tell him what she had learned, but out of respect for the girl her younger brother seemed very fond of, she stayed quiet and simply shook her head. "She's friends with Gaara, so I thought it would be nice to get to know her."

He could see right through her lies, but decided not to call her out on it. Temari had never lied to him before, so he knew she would tell him when she was ready. "Troublesome."

* * *

The moment the door opened, Sakura was on her feet but immediately paused at the sight of two men leaving the room with Itachi behind them and despite his features being composed, she could see the way he was holding himself, could see the tension in his shoulders. It seemed his meeting hadn't gone so well.

As she walked forward, Sakura had to stop herself from shuddering at the looks she received from both men. One had unhealthily pale skin with long dark hair that fell into his golden, snake–like eyes, whilst the other had his silvery–grey hair pulled back into a low ponytail. Unlike Itachi's smooth, straight hair, his looked messy and spiky. Like it had been cut unevenly. She couldn't see his eyes due to the light shining off of his glasses, but whatever the look he was giving her made her feel uneasy. The way the pair of them were smirking at her, like they knew some big joke about her, made her pause in her footsteps.

"Sakura," Itachi called her name, noticing her unwillingness to walk passed the men, "you're early."

She dragged her eyes away from the two men who had also paused, both eyeing her with some sort of amusement. The stupid smirks on their faces made Sakura want to throw them out of the large floor–to–ceiling window at the end of the hallway. "Uh…" She muttered and as she did, the man with the glasses tilted his head to the side, raising an eyebrow at her like he was assessing her. "I… I was at a friend's house… his sister has a meeting here later so she gave me a lift."

"Very well, I will be free in a moment so come in." He replied, shooting a glance at the two men who had been annoying him and now seemed to be annoying Sakura. "Orochimaru, Kabuto, I asked you both to leave. I do not like repeating myself."

The dark haired man's eyes flashed dangerously and this time, Sakura couldn't help but shudder and tense as her right arm rose ever so slightly, her fist clenching. Beside him, the younger man's eyes were still on Sakura's face, his gaze making her feel as though she was some sort of experiment. There was nothing she wanted more than to run right into Itachi's office, but she couldn't, for the life of her, force herself to move. What was happening to her? Yes, they were creepy, but why was she reacting so strongly?

"It was a pleasure to see you, Sakura–san." The darker haired man smirked before turning to his companion. "Come, Kabuto."

His hissed words sent shivers up her spine, especially when he spoke to her like they were old friends. The way he said 'see you' and not 'meet you' seemed to also catch Itachi's notice as his eyes narrowed even further.

Sakura completely stiffened as both men parted to pass her, her being stuck in the middle. The second they were behind her, however, Sakura quickly turned to face them, not liking having her back to people who seemed so… She couldn't even think of a word because she was so scared! When the two finally reached the elevator and disappeared, Sakura all but ran into Itachi's office whilst he calmly re–entered, shut the door and took a seat at his desk. Taking a deep breath to push aside her unease, Sakura walked further into the office.

"You're the only person I can speak to about this." Sakura mumbled as she threw herself down in the chair in front of his desk, her confident and graceful demeanour vanishing almost instantly with just the simple position she was sitting in. "I know it's going to be awkward… but I really need someone's advice on what I should do."

Frowning, Itachi lowered the papers in front of him and raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Sakura?"

"I need some relationship advice." At his deadpan, Sakura sighed. "I know, I know! You think of me like a little sister, so you don't want to know these things… but please, Itachi… I don't know who else to go to, I don't _have_ anybody else to go to."

Straightening his features, he nodded once, suddenly seeing how down Sakura really looked. "Go on."

She hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I met this guy at school… I think I told you about him before, his name's Gaara." When Itachi nodded again, Sakura continued. "Well, last night at the party, we got into an argument, one that was resolved by me telling him about my condition." This obviously surprised Itachi, as his eyes had widened a fraction, but he said nothing. "I'm falling in love with him, Itachi, but I love Sasuke, too and I'm so confused about what to do.

"Gaara is so patient with me… and open minded…" Sakura said softly, though her frown deepened as she stared down at Itachi's desk. "…but even though it's nice, it scares me."

Itachi tilted his head slightly to the side as he regarded her before finally speaking. "You have always disliked the unknown."

She groaned softly. "It feels so wrong talking about stuff like this with you – you're like my big brother! But I don't… _I have nobody else to ask_." Her eyes saddened for a moment as she felt a sharp pain in her chest. When she continued, Sakura kept her eyes on his desk and a faint blush tinted her cheeks. "Every guy I've ever been in any type of romantic relationship with, I've always had sex with them, Naruto included. However Gaara… he's not interested in any of that… he just wants to be with me… and I don't… I don't know how to act around him because of that. I don't know what to do with myself."

There was a soft sigh a moment before Itachi spoke, his eyes watching Sakura with a sympathetic gaze. She just looked so lost and confused and it made his gut twist to know that every man or boy she had ever been with had always – in the end – gotten something out of it. Just knowing that her words included his younger brother made Itachi feel incredibly disappointed with him, even though Sasuke couldn't possibly know about Sakura being bipolar or suicidal. "Not all men or boys are the same, Sakura. It seems that Gaara–kun wishes to know you better before you take your relationship to the next level."

"That's just the thing!" Sakura raised her voice, only to lower it again when she remembered they were in his office. "Gaara knows more about me than Sasuke or Naruto do and despite that, he isn't judging me or looking at me with pity in his eyes and I just… I don't know what to do!"

Her words weren't even making sense anymore, in Itachi's opinion, as Sakura started to speak much faster, but he couldn't bring himself to chide her, especially knowing how confused she was. As he stood up, he pocketed his mobile phone as well as anything else he may need before walking around his desk so that he was beside Sakura. "Come. I have an hour for lunch. We can go anywhere you like."

Smiling brightly at his offer, Sakura stood up. "There's this little place that I know!" She told him enthusiastically, her bright smile making the twisting feeling in his gut slowly disappear as her fear, confusion and sadness did. "I go there nearly all the time and even though it's not really… upper class… they have the _best_ food there. Not to mention I met a little girl there, one who called me 'Princess Sakura'. Turns out she's my English teacher's daughter. I didn't even know Kurenai–sensei was married, let alone a mother!"

As Sakura continued to ramble, Itachi guided her over to the elevators, nodding once at his receptionist who nodded in return, knowing that he would be going on his lunch break and didn't want to be disturbed. Whilst they walked to his car Sakura continued on with her story about how she had been avoiding Sasuke (something he found rather amusing, especially when she got to the part about the six year old girl yelling at him that he was a bully), how she had seen the girl, Azuki, dancing around in a Disney princess's dress, only for everybody except Sakura to ignore her, which led to the girl joining her for lunch. During the drive, Sakura also explained to him about what had happened the night before at the party she had attended, about how Yamanaka Ino had once again tried to humiliate her and everything after that. Then she told him about her staying over at Gaara's and how they had been intimate, though didn't have sex. Whilst discussing this, Sakura grew annoyed and confused again, telling him about how Gaara had told her they needed to slow down, that things were moving too fast for the both of them.

"You mentioned that Gaara–kun isn't used to physical contact," Itachi murmured as he parked the car across the road from the café, "so perhaps that is another reason why he wishes to slow things between you both down."

In Sakura's opinion, Itachi was pretty great at any sort of advice, since he was smart enough to look beneath everything else that would have others groaning with annoyance, Sakura herself included. A perfect example of this was the fact she had completely forgotten about Gaara's lack of experience with physical contact. Who could really blame her for forgetting, though? Just the memory of the night before had her body tingling and a familiar flame flickering to life within her. However, she didn't mention that part to Itachi because whilst they were discussing her sex life, she most definitely did _not_ want to go into details with him.

Slapping her hand to her forehead, Sakura shook her head. "I completely forgot about that!" Removing her hand, she gave Itachi a pathetic look that made her look unsure and even a little desperate. "You see what I mean? I don't know how to act or think or what to say around him! We've spoken about so much since last night and he listened to my stories without judging me, with so much patience and here am I, forgetting that he also has problems! What sort of person does that make me?" She shook her head again, looking down at the menu. "I feel so selfish."

"Just because–"

"Not just that." Sakura mumbled, her entire demeanour becoming more depressed by the second. "I mean… I finally have Sasuke back in my life, something I've been hoping and wishing for, for _so_ long! We're…" The blush was back as Sakura kept her eyes averted. "We're intimate again but this time… it feels different. Whenever we're together it feels different. At school, unless it's during English class, he doesn't even look at me! And when… when we're… you know… I can't even take my top off around him, so it kind of…"

Itachi sighed, not enjoying the conversation in the slightest, especially now that it included his brother, but seeing the distress on her features made him continue with it. "It cheapens the act?"

She nodded, still looking down at her menu to avoid eye contact. "He doesn't ask questions either, which makes it worse. We used to take our time, Sasuke used to make sure that I was completely comfortable… but now it's… it's almost like it's just a quickie to him. Not once have we done _it_ in a bed, it's like he completely ignores it and chooses for the less emotional way, like against a wall or something like that. He doesn't even look me in the eye before, during or after."

It didn't surprise him, to be honest. Sakura's leaving had upset Sasuke more than she knew and Itachi knew that, despite not even officially being together, Sasuke had not taken another girl to bed since (or even before Sakura). In fact, he was certain Sasuke barely even noticed the opposite sex anymore, like he was completely ignoring all females. Sadly, it seemed that that also included Sakura. Not entirely, of course, but he wasn't allowing her close enough to hurt him, not again.

"When you left, it hurt him in ways he cannot understand, Sakura." Itachi told her calmly, despite the fact it felt like he was betraying his brother by saying such things. "He was angry for a while, even going as far as to take his anger out on a teacher. I believe it was his way of feeling closer to you, to try and understand you since apparently you attacked teachers before you left." He knew his words had hurt her, but Itachi also knew that he needed to say this, to tell her about his brother's feelings. "He regularly visited your home, but each time he was denied access and told that you didn't want to see him, which hurt him deeply considering how close the two of you were.

"I wouldn't normally interfere with Sasuke's personal life, especially his relationships, but I know that what I'm saying needs to be said and since my younger brother is too foolish to do so himself…" Itachi sighed, pausing briefly as they ordered their meals before continuing. "I'm glad that you're happy, Sakura, but if your feelings for Gaara–kun are stronger than the ones for Sasuke, then you need to tell my brother. I will always be here for you, but I do not want to see Sasuke hurting the way he had again."

Sakura bit down on her lip as a hard lump formed in her throat and her eyes watered. It was because of the latter that she was keeping her head low, so that Itachi couldn't see how deeply his words struck her.

She had known that her actions and leaving had hurt Sasuke, but she didn't know that it had been so deeply. Yes, they had been in a sexual relationship, but that was just it. Their relationship had been purely physical, well, except from their friendship. In a way, they had been nothing more than friends with benefits and whilst it pained her to think of it that way, she knew it was true. "I don't want to hurt either of them." Sakura whispered. "I never… I just…"

Raising his hand, Itachi gently placed it under her chin, lifting her head so that she was looking at him. "Sakura–"

Before he could get his words out, however, Sakura shook her head. "Just tell me what I should do!" She whimpered. "I don't know what to do. With Sasuke… there's history there… we've been best friends since before we could even walk! When I returned to school, he wouldn't speak to me – I don't blame him for not wanting to, but it still hurt. We were friends for such a long time and before I left we had been more than friends. I could go to him about anything, but that feeling isn't there anymore, Itachi. He doesn't look at me _that_ way anymore and _it hurts_! And I feel like… feel like if I choose Gaara, I'm going to lose Sasuke altogether and just the thought makes my heart ache.

"With Gaara, there isn't any history there. Being with him would be like starting over, a chance to actually do something right with my life. When I first met him, he had been so cold and angry and so full of hatred, but that was just a front! I know him now and I believe that I've helped him change, even if it's only a little. He understands me, Itachi. He… h–he even said… that he'd understand… if I–I chose Sasuke over him… but… but when he said it… there had been p–pain in his eyes."

Once again, Itachi sighed. "Let's not think about this for now, Sakura. It is stressing you out too much. You're still young, so you have a lot of time to make mistakes and do things right. Perhaps this is one of those things that you just need to go with, but I must ask that you tell Sasuke about your relationship with Gaara–kun when the time is right."

There was the slight tremble of her lower lip, but after taking a calming breath, Sakura gave him a smile and nodded once.

"I promise."

* * *

**A/N - Okay so here I was all excited for last week's episode and then just like that, it was cancelled. Ugh!  
**

**I hope that in this chapter, you're all starting to understand Sakura a little bit more.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	26. Why Didn't You Tell Me?

**Chapter 2****6 ****– ****Why Didn't You Tell Me?**

It had been just over two weeks since she had told Gaara everything. They had spoken many times since then, but Sakura had the feeling that Gaara still needed time to get used to whatever was happening between them. He wasn't as against her touching him as he used to be, but she could still see the uncertainty in his eyes.

He had started opening up to her, started slowly lowering his guards. They weren't completely down just yet, but Sakura was patient enough to wait. After all, she knew exactly what it felt like to finally let somebody in, to tell them all of your darkest secrets. It was terrifying.

Some of the things Gaara told her broke Sakura's heart. Yes, she had been sexually attacked and beaten and yes, she had a mental illness, but not once did her family ever give up on her or treat her badly. It made her heart _hurt_ and Sakura wanted nothing more than to pull him into a bone–crushing hug, to tell him that she would be there for him no matter what, but she knew she couldn't do that. Not only because Gaara was a proud person and didn't like to be pitied or looked upon as weak, but also because she couldn't guarantee she'd always be there. Sometimes, with her condition, Sakura often did things or said things that she didn't mean. Once or twice, she had said the wrong thing to Itachi, of all people, and had said and done even worse to her parents. There wasn't only that, though. There was also the fact that she was still in love with Sasuke even though she was falling hard for Gaara.

Gaara was changing. Sakura wasn't entirely sure how, but he was different than when she first met him. He wasn't as harsh and he was much more gentle with her. Gaara actually listened to her without interrupting, he let her rant until she was red in the face from lack of oxygen. Then, he would kiss her on the lips and somehow, it made everything feel better. Just knowing that he would never give up on her made her feel so, _so _happy.

The warning Itachi had given her, reminding her that Gaara was most likely not used to being touched at all, let alone intimately, hadn't left her mind since the moment the words left his lips. So, out of respect, Sakura didn't push him. She didn't make his decision for them to wait any harder and was actually quite well behaved. It wasn't that she was a slut, it was just that Gaara was… well, to put it bluntly, he was hot and he only seemed to get hotter every time she saw him.

She wasn't the only one who was having troubles with keeping her hands to herself, either. There were moments when Gaara would give her a look so heated that it made her feel weak at the knees. There were other moments when he would kiss her so hard it made her breathless and feel a little lightheaded. However, no matter how much Sakura wanted it to, they never went further than kissing, maybe a little petting here and there, but nothing like New Year's Eve. And in a way, Sakura was fine with that. Despite the fact that their little make–out sessions left her feeling as though she _had _to have him, it also made her happy that Gaara wasn't just looking for a fuck.

They had all gone back to school last week, but she had had an extra week off due to her mother worrying too much, not wanting to stress herself out too much. Sakura honestly was not looking forward to returning. It was Monday tomorrow, which meant she and Sasuke would be working together and right now, she wanted to avoid him. Even though they weren't actually together, Sakura felt like she had betrayed him, like she was hurting him. She bit her lip, looking down at the English textbook in front of her that Kurenai had loaned her.

Not only was she scared of hurting him, but Sakura was also terrified of hurting Gaara. With Sasuke, he had friends to be there for him if their relationship (whatever_ that_ was) didn't work out. Gaara didn't have any friends besides her. Yes, he had his siblings, but there was only so much you wanted to tell your family.

She wanted to tell Sasuke everything. Not about what had happened to her, but about her and Gaara. She wanted to tell him so that… Well, Sakura didn't know why she wanted to tell him because if Sasuke really cared for her, then it was going to hurt him and if he didn't, it was going to hurt her. Ugh! Why was she such an awful person? Why did she keep hurting everyone?

It had only been two weeks and already Sakura had had thoughts of breaking things off with both boys.

But that could never happen.

She was far too selfish.

* * *

School was, for lack of better word, utterly _shit._

English has been awkward – and it hadn't even been her who made it that way! It had been Sasuke. He barely even spoke, only grunted and nodded. Both she and Kakashi had frowned at him many times, silently trying to find out what the hell his problem could be, but Sasuke didn't even seem to notice.

It also seemed like she had gained even more hatred over the holidays. How, Sakura had no idea, but if looks could kill, Karin would have killed her over a thousands times in just the past thirty minutes alone. It was difficult to ignore glares such as those, too. They were just so in your face and… _there_! It was because of the intensity that Karin was glaring at her that both Kakashi and Gaara noticed, seeming to sense the darker edge to the air and when they looked over at the girl, she had immediately snarled and turned away.

Not a single one of them knew what to make of that.

"She's Uzumaki Karin, right?" Kakashi asked, an obvious frown in his voice as he continued to watch the red haired girl.

"…Yeah." It was a slow reply, almost unsure. "She's a distant relative of Naruto's mom's. It's one hell of a gene pool, too."

Gaara frowned, looking down at Sakura beside him. "What makes you say that?"

"Well," Instead of Sakura speaking, it was Kakashi and neither Sakura nor Gaara could hide their shock as he did. "Those within the Uzumaki family usually have red hair, such as Karin over there and Kushina–san. There is also Nagato–"

"You know Kushina–san?" Sakura demanded, her eyes widening.

He glanced down at her, nodding. "Her husband, Minato–sensei, taught me almost everything I know. He's like a father to me."

"Why didn't you say anything?" She asked quietly, noticing Gemna sighing at his desk and looking over at them, though he was too laid back to actually say anything to them. "I mean, I brought them both up a couple of times, but you always acted as though you didn't know them. Oh! If you know Kushina–san and Minato–san, does that mean you know Naruto, too?"

For a moment, there was silence as Kakashi debated on whether or not he should answer her question, but really, where was the harm in doing so? "I didn't say anything, Sakura, because I'm not supposed to. Our sessions are for _you_ to open up to me, not the other way around and as for your second question, no. I've only ever met Naruto two or three times and that was back when he was a child – before he could even walk. I doubt he'll even remember me. It's been a while since I went to visit."

"So if it's a strong gene for Uzumaki's to have red hair, why is Naruto blond?"

Again, it was silent as Sakura and Kakashi looked at Gaara, who was practically glaring holes into Karin's head. Something about the girl was obviously rubbing him the wrong way, especially if his fists clenching tightly had anything to say about it. Noticing his barely restrained anger, Sakura gently took his hand, stroking her thumb over his knuckles and almost instantly, it managed to calm him down a little, completely surprising Kakashi.

Letting go of his hand, Sakura picked up her pen and continued taking notes. "His father, Minato–san, is blond, too. In fact, Naruto looks more and more like him every day, don't you think, Kakashi?"

"Yes, almost scarily so."

"Why does she keep looking at you like that?"

Sakura looked up at Gaara, seeing his eyes narrow at Karin and when she turned to face the Uzumaki, Sakura saw her quickly turn back around to face the front. "I honestly have no idea. She was… well, not fine, but didn't ever look at me like _that_ before the holidays. I don't think she did, anyway." Sighing, she looked back at Gaara and shrugged. "Just leave her to it. If I really bother her that much, she'd come and say something to me, _trust me_."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kakashi questioned and just like Gaara, his eyes narrowed.

"Karin and I have never really seen eye to eye." She explained calmly, not even seeming that bothered. "We've always disliked each other, even going as far as getting into fights. Karin has never held back when screaming insults at me or attacking me, it's just who she is."

This time, their eyes widened. "She _attacked_ you?"

Sakura scoffed, glancing up at Kakashi. "Did you skip everything in my files for my first year here?" Looking down at her notebook, she sighed again. "Karin along with a couple of other girls always used to pick on me during our first year here."

"What changed?"

She glanced up at Gaara before looking back down at her notes and writing. "Uchiha Itachi got involved." Sakura told them both, completely surprising them. "He's the big brother I never had and when he heard I was being bullied by jealous fan–girls, he stepped in and made them back off." Again, Sakura shrugged, glancing over at Karin and narrowing her eyes at the back of the girl's head. "Since that day, we've often fought, but Karin has never dared to bully me and make me feel like I'm worthless again. She's terrified of Itachi and always has been. In a way, she's scared of Sasuke, too.

"Not only that, but I started to grow more confident and I fought back. I was tired of being treated like I was dirt. I had a lot of help from Ino, there. She helped me just as much as Itachi did."

It was obvious that Sakura wasn't going to say anymore as she suddenly went silent and both Kakashi and Gaara couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She had never really had it easy, had she?

* * *

Opening the front door, Gaara rubbed his eyes tiredly before stepping inside, holding it open behind him as Sakura also entered his home. She was watching him with concerned eyes as she shut the door, as she slipped off her shoes and hung her jacket up. There was something bothering him, but no matter how hard Sakura tried, she couldn't figure out what it was.

If she was being completely honest, Sakura would say that something had been bothering him all day, seeing as Gaara had been angered much easier than usual, his temper much shorter. In fact, more than once today Sakura had had to stop him from starting fights with other students. Sure, he had only been defending her, but she didn't want him to get into trouble, not because of her.

"Didn't you get any sleep last night?"

Gaara glanced over his shoulder at Sakura and silently shook his head as he hung his own jacket up and removed his shoes.

Now that she thought about it, the rings around his eyes seemed much darker. Damn it, she hated insomnia! Sakura knew how hard it was being so tired but being unable to sleep. Taking his hand when he had turned around, Sakura gave Gaara a soft smile and pulled him closer to her, only letting go of his hand so that she could wrap her arms around his waist.

It made her heart warm how Gaara relaxed against her, how he let out another sigh, though this one sounded more like a sigh of relief. She let out her own sigh as his arms slowly wrapped around her in return, holding her against him. This was one of the many things she liked about Gaara, even though it made her a little uncertain and confused. He didn't expect sex from her. Sure, there were moments where simple kissing moved to heavy make–out sessions (though nowhere near as heavy as New Year's Eve), leaving them both hot and bothered, but his self–control was surprisingly strong and firm – unyielding, even.

Just as Sakura lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him, wanting to feel his lips on her own, the door to the living room opened, surprising her. She hadn't even noticed that it had been closed!

"You're home early." Gaara muttered, but made no move to release Sakura.

Again, Sakura was left feeling surprised, since Gaara wasn't one for public displays of affection. They hadn't been together long (not even a whole month) but already she had learned that. "Hey, Temari."

Temari smiled at Sakura before turning to her younger brother and grinning. "Well of course I'm home early! I gave myself the day off since it's–"

"You know I don't care."

Seeing her smile slip away, Sakura bit her lip and glanced up at Gaara, frowning. "Gaara–"

"No."

"What's wrong?" She asked gently, seeing the guarded look in his eyes as he looked over at Temari. When he went to release her, to move away, Sakura caught his wrist. "Gaara, don't ignore me. Please tell me what's wrong!"

"It's the nineteenth of January."

The guarded look in his eyes increased and it was obvious he was growing more uncomfortable by the second, obvious that he was also growing angry. When Temari noticed Sakura's confusion, her eyes widened. "Gaara, you didn't tell her?"

"Tell me _what_?"

Gaara turned to look at her, pinning her in her place with his icy blue eyes, but just as he was about to say something, somebody came rushing out of the living room, grinning almost as widely as Temari had been.

"Happy birthday, little brother!"

Sakura's mouth dropped open, her eyes widening with disbelief and shock. If it had been anyone else, she would have been hurt by them not telling her when their birthday was, as she had always been one to make a fuss of her friends, to spoil them and make sure they had a great day. However, Sakura could remember what Gaara had told her, could remember every single word.

Suddenly, she was pulling him against her, everything slipping into place as she finally realised why he had been in such a bad mood, why he seemed so tired and stressed, why he had been picking fights today. It was his birthday. In other words, it was the day that his mother had died giving birth to him. Sakura closed her eyes, tightening her hold when she didn't feel him returning it, when she felt him tensing against her. She paid no attention to his siblings, even though they had to be hurting, too. In a way, she respected them for pushing aside their grief and trying to celebrate Gaara's birthday, but at the same time, she was a little mad at them. Couldn't they see that this hurt him?

"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered into his chest, sighing as she felt him returning his embrace. Sure, he was only putting one around her waist, but that was fine with her. Just as long as he wasn't shutting her out.

"Don't be. I don't want a gift."

"No, not about not getting you a gift." She gave a small smile, though it soon slipped away and Sakura was grateful when she noticed Temari and Kankuro avert their eyes, giving them some privacy. "I know what this day means to you, Gaara. I remember what you told me. I just wish you had let me know that it was your birthday, so that we could… I don't know… We could have bought some flowers and gone to visit your mother's–"

He simply shook his head, cutting her off. "No." When she looked up at him in confusion, Gaara closed his eyes, sighing. "The reason why I had no sleep was because I was there last night."

Privacy. Gaara had gone to pay his respects alone so that he could have some privacy, some alone time with her. Sakura bit her lip and had to blink a couple of times to force back her tears. She couldn't even begin to imagine how hard it must be not to have a mother – she couldn't even imagine her own not being around. "Still," Sakura whispered, pressing her face into his chest once more, "I may not have known your mother, but I would have liked to pay my respects."

Gaara pulled away, though instead of completely letting go of her, he took Sakura's hand. He didn't miss the smiles his siblings gave him and Sakura, how even Kankuro looked happy and grateful for having her around.

"You have some visitors, Gaara." Temari informed him. "They're in the living room waiting for you and have been since noon."

There was no shock on his face, but Sakura could tell that he was a little unsure as he tightened his hold on her hand and moved forward. She was right behind him, noticing that he had asked her, without words, to go with him.

When they entered the room, Sakura tensed ever so slightly as an elderly woman and a stern looking man stood from their seats, both looking over Gaara with looks that had her tensing even more, that had her tightening her hold on Gaara and trying to pull him closer, like she could protect him from their looks by hiding him behind her. He didn't budge, though and it pained her that he seemed used to their critical eyes, used to being sized up.

And then, their eyes snapped to her face and finally, Gaara gave a reaction as he actually _did_ pull her behind his body, suddenly glaring at the two opposite him.

Kankuro and Temari entered at that moment, though froze in their places at the anger they could feel pouring from their younger brother and it didn't surprise them at all, especially when they glanced at the other two and noticed their hard eyes assessing Sakura, noticed how Gaara was trying to shield her from their gazes.

After Gaara had hit a certain age, the way people looked at him didn't seem to affect him as much. Well, he didn't give any outward response to the looks, except for when he was fighting with their father. However, it seemed as though he didn't appreciate having them staring at Sakura in such a way.

And neither did Temari.

"Oi, stop glaring at each other!" She demanded, placing a hand on her hip as she walked into the middle of the room, right in between the two guests and Gaara. Kankuro was by her side in an instant, just in case their brother snapped and he had to stop him. Even though he didn't look that strong, it was always Kankuro who restrained Gaara as the redhead was too much for Temari to handle alone. "If you can't play nice, I'm going to have to ask you both to leave, Chiyo–baa, Baki."

The older woman's glare dropped in an instant as a smile graced her wrinkled face. "I was just curious!" She cackled, making Sakura pull an unsure face as she slowly moved around Gaara so that she could see Chiyo and Baki. "I never would've thought that Gaara would have a lady friend!"

"Well he does." Sakura huffed, stepping closer to Gaara so that she was slightly in front of him and glaring in Baki's direction, noticing how the man still hadn't dropped the stern glare. What the hell was the guy's problem? Putting on an almost painfully obvious fake smile, Sakura then said, "I'm Haruno Sakura. It's nice to meet you both."

Again, the woman cackled, giving Sakura an appreciative look. "I can see why you like her, Gaara! She kinda reminds me of someone."

Gaara narrowed his eyes, choosing not to humour the old woman. "What are you doing here, Chiyo–baa, Baki?"

Finally, Baki's glare dropped and it honestly surprised Sakura when he gave Gaara a small smile. "You're eighteen today, Gaara, meaning you're no longer a child. Of course we came."

It was obvious that Gaara was suspicious. "What do you have?"

Sakura was about to slap him upside the head! Was he… Was he _demanding_ gifts? Surely not? Gaara had told her that he didn't want any presents! But then again, both he and Temari had called Chiyo, 'Chiyo–baa'. Maybe she was their grandmother? Just as she shot him an unamused look, about to raise her hand and actually slap him, she noticed how both Chiyo and Baki grew serious, how Temari and Kankuro tensed.

"You've always been smart and noticed things." Baki sighed, his hands unclasping from behind him as he moved to a briefcase that was sitting beside the sofa. Placing it onto the coffee table, he opened it and pulled out three envelopes. "We didn't want to give these to you today, since it's your birthday, but a promise is a promise."

Kankuro frowned, noticing how Temari had grown rather silent. "A promise?"

"Your father," Chiyo spoke, either not noticing or ignoring how Gaara's eyes flashed angrily, "wrote a couple of letters a month before he left and asked for Baki and I to guard them and, should he not return by your eighteenth birthday, Gaara, we were to hand them over to you."

Sakura suddenly felt like she was intruding on something so very private, making her bite her lip uncertainly. "Should I… come back another time?" She asked quietly, though it was obvious her question was directed at Gaara, since she was looking up at him. When he shook his head and tightened his hold, Sakura got her reply. He didn't want her to leave. So, despite feeling rather uncomfortable listening in on such a thing, Sakura took a deep breath and looked back at the others. No matter what, she would be there for him.

"There are three letters altogether." Temari told her two brothers as the three white envelopes were handed out, earning her looks of shock. "One for each of us."

He still didn't let go of Sakura's hand, even when he was handed his letter, seeming slightly stunned as he stared down at the envelope with his eyes a fraction wider than what they usually were. They really were from his father! It was in his handwriting and had the stamp that only his father used, sealing the envelope shut.

"I wanted to give them to you both sooner, but these two kept them pretty well guarded to make sure nothing was touched or opened until you turned eighteen – mine and Kankuro's letters included."

"I wonder what they're about." Kankuro sounded like he was speaking to himself as he glared down at his envelope, though Sakura noticed how his eyes kept shifting to the one in Gaara's hands. If she hadn't known what she did, she would have demanded why he seemed so against Gaara having one. However, since Sakura _did _know, it almost made her smile how protective Kankuro seemed, like he didn't want Gaara to open it in case their father's words hurt him.

Temari felt her chest constrict painfully at the guarded look in Gaara's eyes, the look that had appeared whenever he had been preparing himself for another beating, for more bullying from their father. She had to look away as her throat suddenly tightened, as she felt her eyes beginning to burn and guilt almost knocked her to her knees. She should have tried to help him more! She should have protected him. What sort of older sister did that make her when she couldn't even look after her baby brother?

"Even if we had been given permission to open our letters," Temari spoke quietly, shuffling from one foot to the other and glancing at Kankuro, who nodded once, "we wouldn't have read them. I wanted to wait until you were given yours, to see what you think we should do."

"I don't control your actions." Gaara muttered as he looked down at his letter again, frowning as he did so.

He would be lying if he said that he wasn't curious as to what their father had to say and why it was written in a letter instead of him coming to see them. After all, they were his children! But then again, he probably wasn't sure as to what Gaara's reaction would be to whatever was in the letter and if their father did come… Well, it was just easier to say that he wouldn't have handled whatever it was well.

Temari frowned softly, glancing over at the silent Chiyo and Baki before looking back to him. "It's not that, Gaara. It's just that… It's just that we both know how hard this will be for you and we want to be there for you. So… if you don't want to read your letter, then Kankuro and I won't read ours, either. That way you won't be left out in whatever he has to say. Gaara," Her was quieter now as she moved to stand in front of him, making him look at her with a wary expression, "Kankuro and I will never let you be hurt or left out again. We want to be here for you!"

When he looked up at his brother, Gaara saw Kankuro nod once with one of the most serious looks on his face that he had ever seen before. "I need to think about it." Gaara told them all, glancing down at Sakura who gave him a gentle smile of encouragement, before looking back up at his siblings, giving them both a small smile. "But… Thank you."

If it hadn't been such a serious moment, Baki and Chiyo would have fallen to the ground in shock. Since when did Gaara thank somebody or smile? The old woman's eyes looked down at the girl beside him, who was still holding his hand. Did the girl have something to do with it? Glancing at the other two siblings, she guessed that she did, since they didn't seem as shocked as she and Baki, which genuinely surprised her before she gave a smile.

Maybe Gaara could finally have the happiness that he deserved.

* * *

**A/N ****- There's a reason why Sasuke's acting like a little bitch again, by the way! It's probably not what you're thinking, either and it's actually a big thing that won't be revealed until the end! ;-)  
**

******Okay, so last week's Naruto episode. How deep was Itachi's voice when he was supposed to be eleven?! OMG. He's so adorable that I just want to squeeze his cheeks and kiss him. I think he's my favourite character and following in close second is either Gaara or Kakashi. I love them all!**

******I'm done fan-girling now.**

******Ish.**

******HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	27. Stay The Night

**Chapter 2****7****–**** Stay The Night**

Thankfully, Sasuke hadn't been too difficult this past month, though he was a little quieter than usual. Whenever Sakura commented on it though, he would say that it was nothing important, just things to do with finding colleges. They had the choice of either staying another year at Konoha High, get a job or go to college.

She could understand why he was so stressed. His entire family had gone to the same college, had always passed every single one of their exams with little to no mistakes. Even Itachi had managed to do it whilst he was in control of the company. Just one slip up, one wrong move, and Sasuke would break that family tradition. His parents weren't around anymore, so he would have no idea how they would react to such a thing, but they all knew that his father, Fugaku, would be incredibly disappointed. Though Mikoto, bless her, would smile at him and try to comfort him like only a mother could.

Sakura wasn't sure what she wanted to do when she finished school. For goodness sake, she wasn't even eighteen yet! How the hell was she supposed to know what she wanted to do for the rest of her life? One minute, Sakura wanted to be a fashion designer like her mother, but then the next, she wanted to be an actress or something of the sort. What she was trying to say was that right now wasn't the time to be making such final decisions. Right now, they should all just be having fun because honestly, when were they ever going to get the chance to be teenagers again? Never.

Itachi had been forced to grow up too quickly. The death of his parents had forced him to grow up so that he could take care of his little brother and keep his father's business going as well as go to college. It was because of this that Itachi hadn't had the chance to live a little. Naruto had often made fun of him, saying that Itachi didn't know how to have fun anymore, which resulted in him being punched over the head by her or Sasuke, since they were all protective of each other in their own way. Itachi, however, would simply shrug as though he didn't mind. Saying that though, if it meant his brother would be safe and happy, then Itachi would do anything.

He was stressed. Just one look at Itachi told you that. The stress of taking control of such a large business, of bringing up Sasuke, and going to college all at the same time, was noticeable. When he was younger, his tear troughs were nowhere near as pronounced as they were now. He also smiled a lot more and played with them when he was younger but now, Itachi barely even had the time to leave his office for lunch and quite often worked late. It worried her to no end.

Sighing, Sakura fell backwards so that she was laying on her back, spread eagle and was staring up at her ceiling tiredly.

After getting home from school, she had stripped down and changed so she was in a long sleeved shirt and her boy–cut underwear. It wasn't like she had any plans and both of her parents were out at work. Sakura had meant to get in the bath, but it was far too much effort. It was quite warm, too, now that she thought about it. Had her mother left the heating on before leaving? Most likely.

Another sigh escaped her. After receiving the letter from his father, Baki and Chiyo had wished him happy birthday and left before Gaara had allowed Temari to order takeout and rent a movie. Sakura smiled softly at the memory. It wasn't like he had much choice with both his siblings trying to make a fuss of him, though what really made him give in was when she had grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and kissed him hard. Between softer, more tender kisses, Sakura had practically begged him to let them spoil him just the smallest amount, earning her a groan when Gaara had finally agreed before kissing her more heatedly.

Sakura's thighs moved together restlessly as she felt warmth pool in her stomach at just the memory of how he had kissed her. After that kiss, she had been breathless and ridiculously turned on and Gaara had had to take a cold shower before joining them, though if Temari and Kankuro had suspected anything, they didn't say a word of their suspicions. However, Sakura had noticed the smirk that Kankuro had sent their way when he thought she wasn't looking. What a pig!

Throwing her head back, Sakura groaned. It felt like she had no energy at all and as she turned to the side to glance at the clock beside her bed, she groaned again. It wasn't even half past four yet! How the hell could she be so tired when nothing had even happened at school?

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Perhaps a little nap would make her feel better? It didn't matter if it didn't because not even a second later, Sakura completely relaxed as she dozed off.

* * *

"Sakura, where–" he cut himself off, his eyes widening and not only a fraction, but completely. "Why aren't you wearing a bra?" his eyes lowered. "Or pants, for that matter."

Sakura's eyes snapped open and widened as she looked over to her opened door, surprised to find Gaara stood there, his own wide eyes staring at her before darting to the side, his cheeks warming with a blush.

"How did you get in?"

Seeing that Sakura was making no move to get up or get dressed almost made Gaara nervously shuffle his feet, _almost_. "Your mother let me in." he told her and when he was met by silence, Gaara risked a glance at her face. She was confused. "It's seven in the evening, Sakura. How long have you been laying there for?"

"Since I got home." Sakura answered before looking up at him with an impish smile, raising one of her hands and beckoning him closer. "Care to give me a hand?"

He swallowed, _hard,_ making Sakura giggle.

"_Gaara_," her voice was low and seductive, earning her a shiver, "why don't you join me?"

The door shut and he was on her in a second, his lips claiming hers and his hands cupping her breasts and in response, she arched into his touch, her hands smoothing their way up his back and into his hair. When Gaara was resting comfortably between her legs, Sakura wrapped them around his waist, gasping as she pressed his growing arousal against her.

"Take your pants off," Sakura whispered, her hands suddenly tugging on the waistband of his pants. When he didn't move to do anything, simply staring at her uncertainly, she smiled. "Trust me."

Not sure whether to trust such an impish smile (not to mention the mischievous look in her eyes) he slowly did as she asked whilst Sakura worked on the buttons of his shirt, leaving him clad in only his underwear. She couldn't help but trace the fine, red hairs that disappeared into his underwear, couldn't help how her body reacted to Gaara shivering ever so slightly at her light touch. She had to feel more of him. Then, making his eyes widen a fraction and his breath leave him, Sakura unbuttoned her own shirt and pushed the material to her sides before pulling him closer and making him shiver again when their bare skin touched, but what caused the biggest reaction was when his erection pressed against the apex of her thighs, the only things separating them being flimsy pieces of material.

"Sakura…" He wanted to tell her that they shouldn't be doing this, wanted to remind her of their promise to wait until everyone knew were they were… but _damn_ _it_ she felt so good and was already wet, her juices soaking through her underwear and even his own.

Her hands grabbed his hips, moving them _just so_ and moaning when he hit a sensitive spot and in response, Gaara began moving his hips against hers, closing his eyes and holding back a grunt at the feeling it brought him. Their movements quickened and his hand gripped her hip tightly as their breathing grew harsh and beneath them, Sakura's bed began to creak ever so slightly.

And it was when she let out a sharp cry of pleasure that Gaara remembered exactly why they were waiting, why he refused to go so far with her. His eyes snapped to hers, trying to ignore the urge to just rip off their underwear and take her. It was a ridiculously strong urge, especially since Sakura was panting in his ear, raising her hips and grinding them against his almost desperately, trying to bring them both to completion. Immediately, he pulled back, surprised that he had to use quite a bit of force to pull away from her hold. Gaara had definitely not expected her to be so strong!

"W–What are you…?"

"This isn't right, Sakura." Gaara sighed, rolling off of her and lying back on her bed beside her. It was a couple of moments before he pulled her against him. "…And you detached your mind again." It was a lie, but Gaara honestly didn't think he could handle any more of their… sessions. He didn't want to accidentally hurt her by things going too far.

"_Again_?"

Gaara looked down at her head, hearing her disappointed and hurt tone, like she hated herself. He felt so bad for lying to her and no doubt confusing her. "Don't feel bad for doing it, but just know that I refuse to have sex with you until we figure out how to stop it from happening."

Slowly, unsurely, Sakura nodded, though she couldn't deny that it felt like a relief to hear him say those words. "…So, it's not that you don't want to?"

He smirked, grabbing her hand and before she could even gasp with surprise, he made her grab something, something hot and very, _very_, hard. It took everything in him to ignore the way her hand felt against him. "Believe me, I want to. But I want to be with _you_, not just your body."

"You're quite romantic, you know." Sakura chuckled as she pulled her hand out of his hold, though she paused for a minute at the waistband of his underwear. "Do you want me to help you with that?"

Gaara shook his head. "No."

"I heard that blue–"

"I'm fine, Sakura." He told her quietly. "Just put a movie on."

* * *

Once the movie had ended, Sakura knew that Gaara would take this as his cue to leave. However before he could move out of her bed, Sakura grabbed his wrist just as he had pulled back the covers.

Whilst putting the movie on, she had fixed her nightshirt, put on some shorts and Gaara had gotten dressed, too. Also, during the movie, Mebuki had brought them some food and drinks, though it was thankfully after they were dressed and Gaara was no longer obviously aroused. How awkward would that have been? Very. It would have been very, _very_ awkward.

Gaara looked at her questioningly, "Sakura?"

There was a determined look in her eyes as she stared at him. Even with only the television lighting the room, he could still feel the effects of Sakura's apple green eyes. "Stay the night." she whispered. "I don't want to be alone."

For a moment, Gaara simply watched her, unsure if she was really asking him such a thing. But when she looked up at him again, he could tell that Sakura was serious, that she didn't want to be alone. Inwardly Gaara debated whether spending the night with her would be a good idea. After they had been intimate earlier, there was no denying that they had both become slightly uncomfortable after he put a stop to it, what with him being obviously _very_ aroused and Sakura feeling bad, even though he told her not to.

"Will your mother not mind? It _is _a school night, after all."

Sakura gave him a soft smile. "She really likes you, so no I don't think she'll mind."

It was silent for a couple of moments as Gaara continued to think before finally, he decided to hell with it. He didn't miss the look of relief and happiness on Sakura's features as he removed his shirt and settled back down in the covers, pulling her against him as Sakura switched off the television and closed her eyes.

* * *

**A/N - This chapter is more of a filler chapter, which is why I posted it today instead of next Wednesday.  
**

**Oh, and I need your opinion on something! It has nothing to do with anime and things such as that, though. It's more of a fashion question. You see, I'm going to a concert and I've already chosen my outfit, but I showed it to my mum earlier and she said that the shorts are too short. I'll admit that yes, they are short and show a little bit of bum, but I love the outfit so much! It's not a lot of bum. More like about an inch or something. Besides, I'm not wearing them anywhere other than a concert, so I should be fine, right? I'd post a picture, but I kind of want to keep who I am a secret. Ugh! This is why I prefer staying inside and on the internet. Going out is such hard work.  
**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!:-)**


	28. The Truth Is Out!

**Chapter 2****8 ****–**** The Truth Is Out!**

Have you ever caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and it just ruins your day? Well, Sakura seemed to be having one of _those_ days. The only good thing about her day so far (even though it was still only morning and she had only just woken up) was waking up warm and comfortable with a certain red head sleeping next to her.

During the night, the two had moved closer to one another until eventually, Sakura was pressed against his chest, his arms were wrapped around her and their legs were entangled. She couldn't see much from her position, but if Sakura pulled her head back slightly, she could see his relaxed expression and seeing it made her feel happy. He looked so content and after hearing about his difficulty with sleeping, it made her feel warm inside knowing that it helped him sleep having her so close to him.

It didn't matter to Sakura that in an hour or so, she would have to get up and start getting ready for school. It also didn't matter to her that if she didn't get up by that time, her mother would come barging into her room and literally drag her out of bed. In Gaara's arms, Sakura felt so… relaxed and at peace. She felt accepted and possibly even loved.

Sakura bit her lip ever so slightly before once again pressing her face into Gaara's chest, inhaling his scent as she did so. Would it be creepy of her to say that he smelled good? It probably would, but it didn't mean it wasn't true. Gaara really did smell good and Sakura was secretly grateful that he had decided to sleep without a shirt on last night, giving her a good view.

It was such a beautiful sight in the morning.

Just as that thought entered her mind, Sakura leaned back slightly to get a better look, but instead her eyes locked onto her reflection due to the mirror at her vanity desk, immediately making her feel like crap because _damn_ she looked awful. Her hair was dishevelled and knotted, there were dark circles under her eyes (though nowhere near as obvious as Gaara's) and now that she thought about it, Sakura realised that she had morning breath that could knock an elephant out cold. Why couldn't she wake up like they do on television shows or on movies? You know, when they wake up and they look perfect?

Again, the sight of Gaara sleeping peacefully made her smile. Because of her being bipolar and sometimes suffering from insomnia because of it, her mother had changed her thin, summer curtains for heavy, thick ones that blocked out the light. Not only that, but she always lit some sort of stick that released a calming scent during the day, helping her relax, as well as buying Sakura a new, much more comfortable bed.

Reluctantly untangling herself, Sakura got out of bed and moved as quietly as she possibly could to the bathroom where she proceeded to brush her teeth and hair as well as wash her face. By the time she returned, Gaara still wasn't awake, so she smiled brightly and moved to join him again, immediately being welcomed into his arms as they seemed to automatically wrap around her, holding her tightly to his chest. It reminded her of the way a child would cuddle their teddy bear.

Just lying there in Gaara's embrace made Sakura think about many different things, one of them being how much he had changed since she had first met him. Despite still being angry, he didn't lash out as much and he was much calmer now. His hair had grown an inch or two as well, making it look messier, but still hot. God she loved running her hands through his hair! What else was different about Gaara… oh! He was taller, too. No longer was he only a couple of inches taller than her, Gaara was now almost six inches taller than her, making her feel rather small and dainty when he held her – a feeling she absolutely adored.

It was like he had become a completely different person since they first met, but Sakura still felt like she knew him.

"It is considered rude to stare."

Those were the first words he had ever said to her, Sakura recalled as she smiled into his chest. "I can't help it. You've changed so much and it's only been a couple of months!"

Despite his eyes being closed, Sakura knew he would be rolling them at her. "So have you."

It was true. Sakura had also changed and her parents had noticed this change, too. No longer did Sakura walk around with fake confidence or a depressed look in her eyes. Now, she was genuinely happy even though sometimes it still hurt her when her old friends avoided her. However whenever this happened, Gaara was there for her and not only him, but also his sister, Temari, as well as Itachi and Kakashi.

"We need to get up soon." Sakura mumbled but despite her words, she tightened her hold on him, her face moving from his chest and up to the crook of his neck.

"Hn," he replied simply before resting his head against hers. "I will have to go home before school, so I'll meet you there."

She groaned. "Don't go yet! I'm too comfortable."

So was he, so instead of moving, Gaara tightened his hold on her. "Very well," he mumbled, his eyes still closed.

Last night was the best night's sleep he had had in what seemed like forever! Unlike other times he slept, it actually felt as though he was well rested, like he had actually managed to fully relax and allow his body to recuperate whilst he slept peacefully. A part of him worried that this would all disappear if Sakura was to choose Sasuke, but he refused to focus on that thought and instead decided to make the best of it.

He was aware that anybody else would have demanded she choose by now, but Gaara didn't want to rush her into making her decision, just in case she chose the wrong one. What was worse than being without her was the thought of being with her when her heart belonged to another. Gaara was never one for sharing and it was the same when it came to Sakura, which was another reason why he had been so adamant about them having sex. If he was going to have sex with her, Gaara wanted it to be only him who did so, which meant she would have to choose between him and Sasuke.

What made the situation worse was that Sasuke didn't know a single thing about it! He didn't know that he and Sakura were somewhat together, he didn't know about her mental illness or that she had been raped. Sakura had told him before that Sasuke preferred to reveal his feelings through his actions, but Gaara wasn't too sure if she was being taken for a fool or not. Yes, it was obvious Uchiha cared for her, but was he simply using her for sex? Damn it. It made him feel so angry. The thought of Sasuke touching Sakura made him want to smash something to pieces, preferably the Uchiha's head.

It was strange because he didn't feel betrayed. Even though other people would have felt betrayed, Sakura was completely honest with him. She told him that her mind kept detaching during sex with Sasuke, but he didn't notice and continued whereas Gaara would have stopped immediately. Hearing that had made it feel like his heart was being stabbed with a knife and before he could even stop himself, he had told her to stop sleeping with Sasuke, using the excuse that if she kept letting her mind detach itself automatically, it was going to be harder to try and stop it. The truth was though that he didn't want her having sex with Sasuke. He didn't want her anywhere near the Uchiha, he wanted her with _him_.

Gaara inwardly chided himself for being so jealous and childish. He couldn't blame Sakura for being so confused about what to do, especially when he saw how much it hurt her. When she had slept with Sasuke, she came to him in tears, telling him how sorry she was for betraying him. In the past month, she had only done that once, which made Gaara a little happier since it could have been a much larger number considering how many times she and Sasuke hung out, but not entirely.

The excuses she used for turning down Sasuke's offers were always different, some hardly even believable whilst others the Uchiha could believe. In a way, Gaara felt sorry for Sakura. The girl couldn't even take her top off around Sasuke! Which, secretly, he was grateful for, since he didn't want Uchiha seeing her topless. There was a stubborn, childish voice in his mind that kept repeating the word 'mine' over and over again whenever he thought of Sasuke touching her.

Despite his words, Gaara and Sakura still couldn't keep their hands off of each other. The first time he broke his promise to wait was when they had been walking to his bedroom. One moment, it was like they had been simply walking and then the next, Gaara had her pinned to a wall and was kissing her so intensely that it made her unable to keep herself standing. They still hadn't had sex, of course, but with the way they were going…

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Gaara looked down at the girl lying against him. She was quieter than usual, telling him that she was thinking about something.

His hand came up to her face, gently pushing aside her hair. "What are you thinking so hard about?"

"How can you read my expressions so easily?" She let out a breathy laugh, but he could see that her question was serious, that she really wanted to know how he did it.

There was a soft shrug before Gaara tilted her face up to face his and as he spoke, he gently caressed the parts of her face he mentioned. "When you're angry, your eyebrow knit together, though the right one starts twitching a little and your eyes narrow. When you're sad, your eyebrows furrow and your eyes squint ever so slightly, like you're trying not to cry. When you're happy, your eyes crease at the corners and your lips lift at the corners. It makes your face seem so much brighter, prettier, when you're smiling. When you're thinking, you frown softly, but if it's something big or serious that you're thinking about, you scowl. When you're about to cry, your lips press together tightly and your eyes close to try and hide your tears. When you're nervous, uncertain or scared, you bite your lip. And…" His voice took on a teasing tone as he smirked at her. "When you need the bathroom your nose wrinkles for a second before you frown."

"You can tell when I need to pee?" Sakura asked in disbelief, though he could see the amusement in her eyes. "And here I thought I wasn't that easy to read."

"You're not very good at hiding your emotions." Gaara commented as his thumb stroked her cheek. He always loved touching her, not only sexual touches, but tender, loving touches too. Gaara liked that she didn't pull away from him, that she didn't flinch whenever he lifted his hand. She wasn't afraid of him. "What were you thinking about?"

Sakura bit her lip before releasing it, remembering what Gaara had just said about him knowing when she's nervous because of biting her lip. He smirked softly at her, but otherwise said nothing as he watched her breathe deeply before answering. "I was thinking about what you keep telling me. How you keep saying I should tell Naruto and Sasuke about being bipolar." Gaara was silent and noticing this, Sakura looked up into his eyes, silently asking herself if he knew she could see the apprehension that was suddenly in his eyes. "I–I'm not ready to tell them everything… but I think… if I just told them about being bipolar it might help them understand why I acted the way I did before I left."

He couldn't deny that her words were making him uneasy. What if Sasuke finally gave into his emotions and showered her with affection and love? What if he lost Sakura to the Uchiha? Gaara was aware that being with Sakura whilst there was a chance she could love another was foolish, but it didn't change how he felt. At the end of the day, if being with Sasuke made Sakura happy, then that was all that mattered.

There was nothing more Gaara wanted than for her to be happy.

Reigning in his emotions, he gave her a soft smile before continuing with his gentle caress. "You're doing the right thing."

Once again, Sakura was biting her lip. "I'm also going to tell Sasuke about you, about _us_."

His hand stilled and for a moment, hope filled his chest, no matter how hard he tried to push it down. Not being able to stop himself, Gaara placed his forehead to hers and smiled again. A real smile this time. "It's for the best. Uchiha deserves to know that he'll have to fight for you now." Gently rolling them over so that he was above her, he lowered himself until his lips were brushing her against ear, "because I'm not going to let you go without a fight."

"Such a romantic." She giggled as his lips pressed against her jaw.

The feeling of her hands stroking his arms, shoulders and wherever else she could reach made him relax more, if that was even possible at this point. However, as Gaara glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table, he sighed.

"I need to go." When Sakura whimpered, Gaara smirked and murmured against her lips, "It's not like you're never going to see me again. I will meet you at school."

With a huff of annoyance, Sakura pressed her lips to Gaara's before he got out of bed.

* * *

There was a last minute assembly in ten minutes and Sakura couldn't help but wonder what it could possibly be about. As if that wasn't strange enough, but the year above and below would be joining their year for the assembly, which was even more unusual. Normally, her year's assembly was on a Thursday morning and the only times other years had joined theirs was because of an emergency.

Looking through the crowd that all seemed to be heading towards the cafeteria, Sakura bit her lip. She had been looking for Sasuke for about fifteen minutes now but it seemed as though she couldn't find him anywhere!

However, just as she thought she wouldn't be able to find him, Sakura spotted a head of blond hair and inwardly screamed with annoyance when she saw that Sasuke was with Naruto. How could she get him to come with her now? Sighing, Sakura made her way towards him, ignoring the twisting of her gut and the aching of her heart as she did.

The two boys looked up the same moment that the colour pink caught their eyes and seeing that Sakura was heading straight for them, Naruto's eyes widened whilst Sasuke had to hold back a growl. What was she doing? Was she trying to make things awkward?

Finally reaching them, Sakura made sure to keep her eyes away from Naruto's, even when she could feel his eyes on her. For a moment however, she could say nothing as the pain in her chest flared. "I–I need to talk to you," Sakura spoke quietly and bit her lip before looking down at the ground. "It's about something serious… and private."

All Sasuke could do was stare at her, but when Sakura looked up with pained eyes, he nodded once before turning to look at Naruto, who was looking between them with a frown. Then, when Naruto nodded to him and walked off, Sasuke turned back to Sakura. "What is it?"

"You're coming over tonight after practise, right?"

He nodded again. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head, but then nodded hesitantly. "There's something I need to tell you tonight. It's important and… if we're going to continue this relationship or whatever we are then you have the right to know. No… you _need_ to know."

The sound of the bell ringing told them that assembly would be starting in two minutes and since they were already together, both she and Sasuke entered the large hall and sat at the front. She was at the end of their row, so thankfully she only had Sasuke sat by her side. The last time in assembly, she had some girl who quite clearly didn't like her sitting next to her. The only reason Sakura knew she didn't like her was because the other girl kept 'accidentally' elbowing her during the entire assembly. Well, she did until Sakura elbowed her right back, earning her a sharp yelp of pain.

Slowly, the hall filled with her year as well as the year below and above and they all started to whisper to one another as the curtains hiding the large screen drew back of their own accord. Everyone looked at one another in question. Were they watching a movie? Was there going to be a presentation? Where were all the teachers? Who was doing that?

Sakura looked behind her and spotted Kakashi as well as Kurenai and Asuma right at the back of the hall. Kurenai and Asuma were there because they couldn't leave a hall full of students unsupervised and Kakashi was there because of Sakura's fear of being around so many people. She couldn't see their expressions clearly, but Sakura could tell that they were also confused as Kakashi had straightened out of his usual slouch and was scanning the large hall with narrowed eyes.

"…_w__hat happened between me and Naruto was over two years ago and what happened between me and Sasuke…__" _There was a brief pause as the speaker stopped speaking for a couple of seconds,_ "__Gaara, I love Sasuke so much that it hurts__…__ but I'm also falling in love with you__."_

Her eyes widened as she quickly turned back to the screen, only to see her and Gaara sitting side by side in a field. It was sunset and the stars had started to reveal themselves, but of course, Sakura already knew that. Her back as well as Gaara's were to the camera, but that didn't seem to affect the microphone. Once again, the whispering started up again as many people turned to look at her, Sasuke included since he was sat next to her. His eyes were silently demanding that she explain herself, but Sakura couldn't find her voice.

"_I want you to be able to trust me," _Sakura's soft voice spoke._ "I know… I know I've done nothing to earn your trust, but if you just _told me_ how I can start to earn it__–__"_

On the screen, Gaara looked down at her, but his expression was hidden from the camera._ "What happened to you before you left?"_

Sakura's hand went up to her mouth as she cried out. No! Nobody could see this. Sakura sat up straighter as she spun around, only to see that Kakashi and the other teachers had frozen, staring up at the screen in shock. As Sakura was about to turn around, she saw Gaara sitting on the back row, looking equally as shocked. Their eyes didn't connect like she wanted them to; he was too busy staring up at the screen in horror, in shock, in pure _anger_.

Turning back around, Sakura saw that Sasuke's eyes were staring at the screen intensely.

"Sasuke–" Sakura whispered desperately, but she was interrupted by her own voice.

"_There had been a fight between Naruto and Sasuke, a fight over me. They weren't fighting like they usually did, they were physically attacking one another and it hurt me so much to see them hurt each other. I tried to get them to stop and eventually, they did_ _thanks to Sasuke's brother interfering, but Naruto's eyes were filled with so much betrayal and hurt and Sasuke's eyes were guarded as they always are. We all said some things before I stormed off._

"_Nobody knows this part of the story… not even my parents, Kakashi or Tsunade. I'm telling you this because I want you to know everything. I want to know that I can trust you with anything and by knowing all of this, you can trust _me_. I was walking…" _At that moment and on the recording, Sakura's breathing came out in uneven breaths_. "I was walking down the road __–__ you know the one that leads straight to my house?" _On screen, Gaara nodded once._ "I was halfway home when I was grabbed from behind and before I could even react, I was dragged into the woods where I was beaten and… and r–raped__.__" _As people turned to stare at her, Sakura's body started to shake just like on the video. _"The man… he left me in the woods thinking I was dead. At the time, I wished that I was."_

Sasuke quickly turned to stare at Sakura, for once his eyes not hiding his emotions as her own filled with tears. Seeing pain, guilt and anger in his eyes did nothing to help her. No, what she wanted was for the person doing this to show themselves! Remembering what she had said next, Sakura looked away from Sasuke, her eyes practically burning holes into the screen as her tears silently fell down her cheeks.

"_Sakura…"_

Back on the screen, Sakura shook her head. _"It wasn't until after five in the morning that I finally managed to get up and drag myself home. My parents thought that I was staying over at Sasuke's with him and Naruto; they didn't ask questions since we had all been best friends since we were kids. I didn't… I didn't want to wake them," _Her sob caused even the coldest of people in the room to have a lump rise in their throat. _"I didn't want them to see or know what had happened to me. So I locked myself in my bedroom and soaked in the bath and it was like part of me was hoping if I bathed long enough, I could wash away what had happened. I didn't eat for days afterwards and I couldn't sleep properly. I could tell my mom and dad were worried, but I kept pushing them away because I was scared that they'd judge me__._

"_I had never felt so alone before in my entire life," _came Sakura's broken whisper as she clutched her knees tightly against her chest. _"Ino had stopped talking to me and at the time, I had no idea why. Naruto and Sasuke were both ignoring me and everyone else who I thought were my friends also avoided me."_ Sakura sobbed once again before speaking. _"It hurt so much. I felt so down, so disgusting…"_

Everybody in the hall gasped once again as on the recording, Sakura lowered her legs and lifted her sleeves to Gaara. Although the camera didn't show what she was showing him, it was more than obvious what it was, especially when they saw his body stiffen.

Sakura looked down at her wrists both on screen and off. _"I disappeared from home for about two weeks and I did some… some awful stuff with people I didn't know. My parents found me one day when they were out searching for me and brought me home, screaming at me for acting so selfishly. A couple of days later, I tried to kill myself, but my parents found me in the bath__.__"_ Then, Sakura cried out, _"I still hear her scream my name at night when she has nightmares about finding me unconscious in the bath, bathing in my own blood. When my mom wakes up, the first thing she does is check on me, to make sure that I'm still there with her, that I haven't tried to leave her again._

"_I was admitted to a psychiatric __hospital__." _She told him suddenly and on screen she was lowering her sleeves once again. _"Whilst I was there, they diagnosed me bipolar and suicidal."_

Sakura buried her head into her hands, wishing that she could just disappear right at that moment in time as she quietly sobbed. Sasuke looked at her in shock as Sakura started to shake but when he went to put a hand on her arm, she flinched away from him as though he had burned her.

"_You're bipolar?"_

She nodded once._ "Yes."_

"_I never realised…"_

"_Nobody did, not until it was too late. Being… Being attacked that night was the final push, though something else triggered the disorder long before it. Even after my mom saved me, I still wanted to die. I had tried starving myself, but they fed me through a drip and monitored my meals. I tried hanging myself, but they made sure somebody was watching me at all times__.__"_ On screen, Sakura ran a shaking hand through her hair before wrapping her arms around herself. _"I felt like I was suffocating, like I couldn't breathe. My mom… she didn't want me to come home until she knew for sure that I wouldn't try to kill myself again. I was never allowed any visitors except for my parents. I had to be watched as I ate, whilst I bathed._

"_It was so hard," __s_aid her broken whisper once again and it was obvious she was crying, _"But then… the thought of breaking out of that place, of seeing the outside world and actually feel the wind on my face or in my hair… it was enough to keep me going. I dreamt about getting better, getting out of there and seeing all my friends again, spending time with my family where I _don't _have to be watched. But the thing I dreamt about most was speaking to Sasuke, Naruto and Ino again. I wanted to tell them I was sorry for everything I had done to them, that I love them all so, _so _much." _

Another sob tore out of Sakura's chest as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"_Then when I finally do start to get my life back on track, when I'm finally allowed to socialise once again, I'm torn down by Ino in front of everyone. It had taken me so long to work up the nerve to step out of my house, to think that it would be safe for me to do so."_

People turned to glare at Ino, but she was too engrossed with the recording to even notice. Her skin had turned a sickly pale colour and her horrified eyes were wide and filled with tears. The memory of their fight in the cafeteria, of how Sakura kept yelling that she didn't know her… it all kept replaying in her mind. Bile started to rise in her throat, but Ino forced it down as she covered her mouth with her trembling hand. Beside her, Sai was watching her silently, wondering if there was something he should say or do.

"_When were you discharged?" _

"_Four months after being sectioned." _

"_You should tell them." _Gaara told her. _"Sasuke, Naruto and Ino all deserve to know."_

There was a sound of a scoff. _"Yeah, because I haven't tried so many times to explain myself to them, to apologise. Sasuke… at least he seemed to somewhat accept my apology, but he still doesn't know. I couldn't find a way to tell him. Naruto won't even look at me for longer than five seconds, let alone hear me out and every time I see Ino, she's trying to tear me down." _Sakura shook her head softly. _"I forgot how mean Ino could be when her anger and hatred was turned on you."_

Everyone grew silent once again. However this time, the sound of someone trying to break open a door filled the silence as well as their grunts.

On the screen, Gaara didn't reply, but he moved closer to Sakura and moved his hand almost hesitantly before holding hers.

"_Thank you," _He said quietly after a couple of minutes of silence.

She looked at Gaara, who was clearly avoiding making eye contact._ "Thank you for what?"_

Sakura shot up out of her seat, knowing what was about to be said. As she did, her eyes connected with Gaara's and the latter looked as though he was close to losing it. Her breathing came quick as it felt as though everyone was looking at her, as though everyone was judging her. In the back, Kakashi stopped with trying to open the door to the room that held the computers for the big screen as he seemed to sense her discomfort, as he sensed her slipping.

The red haired boy finally caught her gaze. _"Thank you for telling me everything."_

It was one thing for them to know about her, but Gaara… what he had told her was in so much confidence, so much trust. Sakura couldn't allow for the others to find out. He didn't need another reason as to why he shouldn't trust people.

"_I don't__–__" _He started to say, but was interrupted.

Before anyone could stop her, Sakura grabbed her chair and with an angry yell, she spun once and released it.

Her emerald eyes were wild as it connected with the screen, causing the glass to shatter and break as sparks seemed to fly from it before it started to release thick smoke. The students in the hall all tensed and some even shrieked as Sakura turned to them, as she looked through them all, trying to figure out who could have done such a thing.

However, before she could do anything else, Kakashi had silently approached her from behind and pinned her arms to her sides in a restraining hold. Her entire body tensed as dark memories flashed before eyes, causing Sakura to cry out and thrash. Sasuke, Gaara and Naruto all stood up immediately after hearing her cries of distress. After hearing her story, it wasn't too hard to guess at what Kakashi's hold was reminding her of. Just as they moved forward to help her though, Sakura smashed her head backwards into Kakashi's windpipe, making his hold loosen. As it did, she spun around and pushed him away from her, backing away as he regained his stance and took even breaths, trying to keep calm despite the pain and difficulty breathing.

"Sakura, it's okay." He told her as he stepped forward.

"Stay away from me!" Sakura spat, her features, voice and body language screaming distrust as her tears continued to fall. "Who the hell did that?" She screamed to the rest of her year and the year below and above. "Was that supposed to be some kind of sick, twisted joke?"

Nobody stepped forward and when she received no answer, Sakura fell to her knees. She felt completely and utterly ashamed of herself as she covered her face with her hands.

Her secret was out.

Now everyone knew the truth.

The only good thing about the past twenty minutes or so had been her quick thinking in stopping Gaara's secrets from also being revealed. Sure, there was no doubt in Sakura's mind that her punishment for this would be severe, but it was worth it. If it meant Gaara's trust in her would remain undamaged, that he wouldn't fall deeper into his depression and hatred for people, his distrust of them, it was definitely worth it. She had said it before and she would say it again. No matter what, she would be there to protect him.

"Sakura," Kakashi spoke warily as he knelt down beside her. Sakura tensed as he placed a hand on her shoulder, but made no move to push him away. "Come on. We should get you out of here."

As he helped her to her feet, Sakura looked up at the still full hall. Her eyes were filled with defeat and pure hatred as she mumbled to them, "I hope whoever did this is happy now." However, just as Kakashi went to place his arm over her shoulder, Sakura's entire body tensed once again. "Let me go." She said quietly. "I don't need help. I can walk by myself."

Kakashi seemed unsure, but did as Sakura asked as she walked out of the hall. He kept right on her heels as she walked, ready to catch her if she fell.

Gaara was just about to leave the hall so that he could be there for her when a blond with blue eyes stood in his way. His eyes and features remained impassive as Gaara slowly looked over the boy before scoffing and moving to step around him. However, just as he did, the blond narrowed his eyes and stepped in front of him once again, his fists clenching.

"You're not going anywhere until you tell me _everything_." Naruto spat angrily.

* * *

**A/N - I think you can all guess why I was so excited to get this chapter out! Drama, drama, drama!  
**

**When I first started writing 'They Never Knew', I never planned for it to be any longer than twenty, possibly twenty-five chapters. Now, I've almost finished writing it and I can tell you now that it's nowhere near over. I hope you all like long stories, because this one is going to be around seventy chapters long! And not only will it be filled with drama and angst, but also sex, violence and surprises! ;-)  
**

**Thank you to those who not only reviewed, but also messaged me with their opinions on my shorts! I was kind of worried about looking a little slutty. Also, as for showing you a picture, look up 'short shorts Miley Cyrus white'. They're pretty much the exact same length, only mine are blue denim instead of white.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	29. I Was Able To See

**Chapter 2****9 ****– ****I Was Able To See**

"Why should I tell_ you _anything?" Gaara asked rather coldly, his emotionless glare making Naruto shift uneasily from foot to foot. It made Gaara want to scoff. So much for being tough. But then again, he knew how intense his glares could be. "Why do you even care?"

"_Of course I care_!"

Naruto's sudden loud yell made those who were still in their seats turn to face them, now watching eagerly when they recognised Gaara from the video and Uzumaki Naruto, Sakura's ex–best friend and ex–lover. Was a fight going to break out between them? And was that Uchiha Sasuke making his way over to them? Oh damn! There _was_ going to be a fight.

"What's going on?" Sasuke demanded, his eyes narrowing on Gaara.

In response, the redhead scoffed, looking at the Uchiha with disgust. "I'll admit, this _does_ concern you, but it has nothing to do with Uzumaki."

"It has everything to do with me!" Naruto exclaimed, taking a step forward, only to be stopped by Sasuke as he shoved him backwards.

"No, Naruto." Sasuke admitted rather reluctantly. "It _doesn't_ concern you."

Naruto's eyes widened and his mouth dropped in shock, betrayal and hurt, before it slammed back shut and his eyes narrowed with anger. "Teme! How the hell can you say that, eh? I've always cared for Sakura–chan!"

"So you're back to calling her Sakura–chan, now?"

It was obvious that Naruto was starting to get pissed off and not just a pathetic, schoolgirl sort of pissed off, but almost like how Gaara got pissed off. He was practically seething, spitting out between clenched teeth, "You know that I've always cared for her, Sasuke."

Oh Sasuke was _so_ not in the mood to argue with the idiot today, especially not after what he had just discovered. It felt like his stomach was burning and twisting, like he was about to throw up at any moment. Sasuke glared openly at Gaara. Sakura chose to tell _him_? Why did she go to Sabaku? She could have come to him! He would have listened to her and tried to help! What the hell was this guy to her? On the video, Sakura had said she was falling in love with Gaara.

His glare intensified.

But it seemed Gaara was unaffected as he once again scoffed. "So instead of going to see if Sakura is okay, you want to fight with me?"

For a moment, the Uchiha could do nothing but stare, too stunned to even speak, though his glare didn't lessen up at all. Gaara did have a point, though. What was he doing? He should have gone after Sakura like Sabaku tried to before Naruto stopped him. "Kakashi is with her." Sasuke retorted coolly, his eyes narrowing. "It's not like she'll want to see anyone."

"You really don't know her, do you?" Gaara smirked, but it was obviously forced and they could see the anger and hatred in his eyes, which only increased as his fists clenched tightly, like he was stopping himself from attacking them. "Do you really believe that she will want to be alone right now?" Again, there was only silence, making Gaara shake his head with annoyance. "You're wrong. If it's one thing Sakura hates more than anything, it's being alone."

Naruto tensed visibly.

That was all Gaara needed to pounce. "You, Uzumaki Naruto, were supposed to be her best friend. She always speaks so highly of you, always says nice things. I, for one, don't think you deserve the things she says or her feelings."

"What?"

"_For fuck sake_!" Gaara suddenly snapped, his glare intensifying and making Naruto take an uneasy step back. "Even _Uchiha _forgave her before you did!"

If Sasuke was affected by his glare or his words about him, he said nothing and instead turned towards the screening closet. It was where all of the computers were and the controls for the big screen. "Whoever did this is still in there." He commented. "They wouldn't have been able to leave since we were all in the hall and they would have been seen."

He had their attention immediately and both Sasuke and Gaara noticed how Naruto relaxed slightly now that the redhead wasn't verbally attacking him. Gaara didn't care. If he had to, he'd just find the blond later and deal with him. He was so sick of Sakura being hurt. She didn't deserve it at all! Damn it. How did such a great morning end up like this? It felt like he had woken up with Sakura weeks, maybe even months ago. It felt so far away and right now he wanted nothing more than to go back to that peaceful moment and hold her in his arms again, where she couldn't be hurt.

Gaara was outside the door in a second, slamming his foot and ramming his shoulder into it repeatedly and he didn't miss the startled shriek that came out from behind it, which only made him angrier.

"Gaara!" A voice snapped from somewhere near him, but Gaara was too livid to bother to look.

It wasn't until a hand grabbed his shoulder that he stopped, looking over his shoulder with such a menacing look that it had the woman stumbling backwards into a man. He recognised them both immediately. They were teachers here, Kurenai and Asuma. Sakura spoke of them often. Where the hell were they when all of this shit was happening? Why hadn't they stopped any of it?

"Calm down." Asuma warned him as Sasuke and Naruto made their way over to them. "We don't need any more drama today."

"Drama?" Naruto yelled in outrage.

It wasn't only Naruto who was angry as Gaara turned around fully. "You think this is just some petty school drama?" he demanded. "You have no idea what you're even talking about! You don't even know Sakura."

"You're wrong, Gaara." Kurenai responded quietly, trying her best to calm the boy without accidentally angering him further. Kakashi had warned her about him right before he left to help Sakura, warned both her and Asuma about how he got when he was angry. Unfortunately, she had failed to take notice of his warning not to touch the redhead. "I know Sakura quite well, not as well as you do, but well enough. I know for a fact that she wouldn't want any more attention today."

"Which is why we want to deal with whoever is in there." They were all surprised as Sasuke appeared beside Gaara, seeming to be on his side. If Gaara was shocked though, he didn't show it. "If we don't, then they'll find a way to sneak out of there."

Asuma shook his head. "There's only one door to that room. Whoever it is in there, they're not getting out any time soon unless they want everyone to know who they are."

Naruto gave him an annoyed look before shaking his head. "There's more than one way out of that room. Trust me." He sounded so sure, so certain that they couldn't help but look at him blankly, which made Naruto grin sheepishly and scratch the back of his head. "Well… you see… when I get tired of lessons… I kind of–"

"So this is where you hide to skip my lessons, eh?" Asuma narrowed his eyes before shoving his hands into his pockets and sighing. "We'll deal with that later. Right now, we need to focus on the person in there." He scanned the hall for a minute, not even paying attention to the others who were watching curiously and when he spotted two familiar faces (though they looked much paler than usual), his raised his hand to them and they immediately made their way over. "Choji, Shikamaru, I need you to go and find the janitor and make sure he has his keys for the screening closet."

Gaara looked over at Shikamaru, recognizing the name instantly, but choosing not to mention anything about the fact he was dating his sister or had been one of Sakura's closest friends. Instead, he merely said, "Tell him it's about Haruno Sakura." At their unsure, skeptical glances, he rolled his eyes. "During our time in detention, the old man grew fond of Sakura and always said that she's a nice girl and others should be more like her."

He, for one, was glad Sakura was one of a kind. If more girls were like Sakura then he wouldn't have… fallen for her? Was that what these feelings were? Gaara wasn't too sure. Whatever it was that he felt for her, it was strong and he would do anything to keep her from getting hurt and if somebody did manage to hurt her, then they would have him to deal with.

"She's friends with the janitor?" Naruto questioned, frowning as he watched Shikamaru and Choji rushing out of the hall, which was surprising for the two since one was lazy and the other… well, it was safer to say that he enjoyed his food.

"Like I said," It was obvious Gaara was getting more annoyed by the second, but his anger was slowly calming down, "you don't know Sakura anymore. She and Akio often spoke with one another." His eyes narrowed on Naruto and Sasuke. "He was one of the very few people who treated her like she's a person."

Before either boy could reply, Kurenai spoke, her voice soft and quiet. "Gaara, is what we all saw today on that video true?" When Gaara simply stared at her, refusing to answer, she bit her lip. "I knew something was off about Sakura. That day when Kakashi had to take her out of class…" Kurenai shook her head, looking down at the ground. "I can't even explain what I saw! She was hysterical."

"I remember." Sasuke stated, his eyebrows knitting together. "Everyone in the class heard her screaming at Kakashi."

Kurenai nodded sadly. "I can't begin to imagine what she must be going through."

Just as Naruto was about to say something, three people started running over to them, the man at the back fiddling with his keys. There was a look of anger in his eyes as he stormed straight passed the group, only to pause when he spotted Gaara. "Gaara, is Sakura okay?" No answer, though Akio noticed how the redhead's fists clenched tightly. "I see." He nodded once, making the others stare at him in confusion. It looked as though he and Gaara were having some sort of telepathic conversation! "Take care of the girl, won't you?"

This time, Gaara nodded. "Open the door."

Akio did as Gaara told him, finding the key and unlocking the door with ease. Just as Akio tried to open it though, the person on the other side grabbed the handle and tried their best to keep it shut, which made Gaara's eyes narrow dangerously before he walked forward, Akio immediately moving back for him, and all but ripped the door from it's hinges, earning a cry of pain from the person when the handle was yanked out of their hold.

His vision turned red when he saw who it was.

It was Karin.

Before he could grab the redhead, a feminine figure appeared in front of him, her back to them and showing only her midnight blue hair. However, it seemed whatever expression on her face was terrifying as Karin's eyes widened a second before the girl shot forward, yanking Karin out of the closet and passed a slightly stunned Gaara. Then, her hand lashed out, slapping Karin harshly across the face so hard that her glasses flew right off and clattered to the ground.

"How could you do that?" The girl yelled, her usually quiet and soft voice loud and hard with anger.

All three boys' eyes widened when they saw the pearl–coloured eyes, making it obvious just who this girl was.

"Hinata?" Naruto called out, seeming completely and utterly shocked. Nobody could blame him, even Sasuke and Gaara were unable to hide their shock as the seemingly harmless Hyuuga had Karin almost in tears!

"Naruto–kun," She replied with a firm voice, though her eyes stayed locked on Karin's.

Naruto frowned, looking between Hinata and Karin, the latter quickly grabbing her glasses, cleaning the lenses and putting them back on whilst trying to ignore the murderous glares that were focused on her. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you and Sakura–chan were friends!"

"I may not know Sakura–san as well as you all once did or do." Hinata spoke softly, but there was an air of seriousness about her as her pale eyes narrowed. "I may not know her at all, but I have noticed that for the past couple of months, Sakura–san has been happy. Every time she sat beside me, she was unable to wipe the smile from her face. At first, I thought it was because of you, Sasuke–kun." She faced him, but then, her eyes trailed to the boy beside him. "But it was actually… because of you, Gaara–kun." There was a small, hesitant smile on Hinata's face as she twisted the ends of her sleeves between her fingers. "I know I am speaking out of place, but what Karin has done to Sakura–san… it has destroyed what happiness she had."

"Hinata…" Kurenai spoke softly, her eyes saddening at the sight of her pupil.

They were shocked as tears filled Hinata's eyes. "I saw the happiness in Sakura–san's eyes shatter when that video was played." Her teary eyes turned to glare at Karin, who was simply stunned. "I always knew… I _always_ knew that quite a few of the 'popular' people were awful. I do _not _like labelling others, but from what I have seen today… from what _I always see_, what I say about you is true."

Suddenly, there were three people stood beside Hinata, startling the girl as she spun around to face them. However, after seeing who it was, she smiled, "Neji–nīsan, Lee–kun, Tenten–san!"

"Is there a problem here, Hinata–san?" Lee asked, his brows furrowing ever so slightly as he looked over at the group behind Hinata, who were all staring at the girl's back in shock.

Hinata shook her head. "Not at all, Lee–kun," She smiled, "I was just… I just had to tell them something."

Naruto frowned as he took a step forward. "Hey, Hinata, how do you know all of this?"

Her smile saddened as she looked over her shoulder at Naruto. Then, as she turned around fully, her smile slipped away. "Because when nobody else would speak to her, when she would sit beside me in English with Kakashi–sensei by her side, I was able to see."

"See what?" Sasuke frowned. A part of him was wondering if all girls were this dramatic.

"I was able to see that her smiles were not genuine." She half–whispered and had to refrain from bringing her hand up to her mouth. "There was pain in her eyes when she would look at you, Sasuke–kun. When she would look at anyone she remembered there would be great pain, regret and guilt in her eyes." Again, Hinata was hesitant as she turned to face Naruto. "But there was never a greater pain, regret or guilt in them than when she was looking at you, Naruto–kun."

His eyes went wide, "W–What?"

Hinata forced her tears back as she looked down at the ground. "I heard what happened between you both from the first fight between Ino–san and Sakura–san, but also from when Sakura–san was talking to Kakashi–sensei." She bit her lip softly. "I know it was wrong of me to listen and I feel bad for doing so, but I know that her friendship with you, Naruto–kun, meant a lot to her. You were her best friend, someone she believed she could rely on and have by her side when she needed you."

By now, Naruto's eyes had filled with tears. He couldn't believe what he was hearing! Was what Hinata saying true? With the way Neji, Lee and Tenten were watching her, and with the way she looked so torn, it was obvious this information had been tearing her up. It was obvious she didn't know whether to tell him or not.

"I heard her say on more than one occasion that you were her 'boys'." Hinata smiled softly as she looked up at them. "But Gaara–kun, to Kakashi–sensei, she spoke about you the most. At least, recently she has." When she saw his icy blue eyes narrow, Hinata quickly looked down again. "T–They weren't bad things! She would tell him about how you were helping her, how you kept her grounded and from going 'insane'."

Gaara looked shocked, or as shocked as a boy who never showed emotion could, which was in fact, quite a lot considering his eyes were wide and his lips were parted ever so slightly. "She…"

Hinata nodded and smiled once again when he trailed off. "She said quite a lot of things about you, Gaara–kun." Then, she looked at the others who were listening intently before looking back at him. "I won't tell you everything, because I'm not sure what some of it means."

He nodded once, finally managing to get his emotions under control. He was grateful that the Hyuuga girl wasn't going to say anything. Then, his eyes narrowed as he turned to Karin, the girl who had caused all of this, making her flinch.

"You–"

But he was cut off as a flash of platinum blonde hair stepped in front of him.

"You bitch!"

She took the words right out of his mouth.

"How dare you do something like that!" She all but screamed, her fist swinging forward and smashing into Karin's face. Her chest was heaving as Ino watched Karin fall to the ground, yelping in pain as she lifted a hand to her face. "Get up!" Ino yelled at her before moving forward and dragging the girl up by her hair. "What the hell gives you the right to hurt her like that? Even I know that posting shit like that is _too fucking far_!"

Throwing Karin to the ground, Ino kicked her in the stomach. "She was _raped_!" She suddenly screamed, once again lifting Karin, although this time by grabbing her blazer. "She tried to kill herself! How can you use something like that against her, huh? _What the fuck is wrong with you_?"

Asuma was there in an instant, holding Ino's arms behind her back as he pulled her away from Karin, but that didn't seem to stop the blonde as she kicked her legs out, her foot smashing into Karin's shoulder. The redhead screamed in pain this time, clutching at her shoulder as her features scrunched up in agony.

"Let go of me, damn it!" Ino demanded, trying to break out of Asuma's hold. "Asuma–sensei! This bitch needs putting in her place. She can't just get away with doing that to Sakura!"

"And she won't!" He simply replied, looking over at the group surrounding him. "All of you except Choji, Shikamaru, Lee, Neji and Tenten get to the head master's office. Kurenai, will you send everyone to class and Akio, was it? Will you please clean up the front of the hall? The big screen was smashed and there will be broken glass about."

They were all gone in an instant.

* * *

Her palms were sweaty, but no matter how many times she tried to wipe off the sweat, it wouldn't work. The tears hadn't stopped falling and by now, Sakura had stopped trying to wipe them away or stop them. Also, her hair was a little dishevelled due to her running her fingers through it every couple of minutes whilst she paced Kakashi's office, waiting for him to return. Apparently he was speaking with Sarutobi, who had no idea that an emergency assembly had been called since he had been in a meeting. He had been gone for around twenty minutes now and Sakura could feel herself growing restless. Her earlier mood of pure exhaustion had passed and she could feel adrenaline pumping through her veins, almost making her tremble with the need to release energy.

And then that was when she heard them.

A loud slam made the walls shake, startling Sakura as she jumped almost a foot into the air, effectively pausing her pacing. However, what she heard next surprised her all the more.

"_Get off of me! I can walk by myself." _It was Karin who said this, Sakura noticed and for a moment, she was confused. What was going on?

"_Not a chance!_" This voice startled Sakura. It was Naruto and she hadn't heard him sound so angry in a long time. "_After what you did to Sakura–chan–"_

He didn't even get the chance to finish his sentence as Sakura darted out of Kakashi's office, her eyes narrowed and dangerous. The others seemed surprised by her sudden appearance and Naruto quickly let go of his hold on Karin as Sakura lunged.

"It was _you_?" She screeched, slamming Karin up against wall. "What the hell is wrong with you? What have I ever done to make you hate me this much?" Before Karin even had the chance to speak, Sakura pulled her away from the wall before slamming her against it again, making the air painfully rip out of her. "I'd beat the shit out of you, but it looks like somebody has already beaten me to it."

"You have me to thank for that."

At the familiar voice, Sakura let go of Karin like she had been burned and spun around to face the group behind her, her eyes widening with shock before they narrowed and her eyebrows knitted together uncertainly. "Why?"

"Why, what?" Ino frowned, rubbing her arm a little self–consciously, though she told herself it was because of how tightly Asuma had been holding her.

"Why did you beat the crap out of Karin?"

This time, Ino rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help but look saddened. "Because even though you hurt me by doing what you did, you didn't deserve what happened to you, not today and definitely not last year."

"No," Sakura retorted a little bitterly, stepping to the side so that she was nearer to Gaara and so her back wasn't to Karin, who was also moving away from Sakura warily, "I just deserve to be belittled and picked on by _you_."

"You've got to admit, Sakura, that what you did was a shitty thing for a best friend to do! You were like a sister to me." Despite her words being harsh, Ino's voice was soft. "But…" The blonde bit her lip, looking unsure for a minute before speaking again, a small smile on her lips, "even though I don't think we'll ever be able to be as close as we used to be, I would like to try and be your friend again."

Pity.

Ino was _pitying _her?

Just as Sakura was about to snap at her, to tell her that she didn't want her pity, a figure appeared behind her, his hand dropping onto her shoulder, though it acted more of a restraint than anything else.

"Sarutobi–sama will see you all now." Kakashi informed them, his eyes narrowing dangerously when he spotted Karin, though the look of anger was quickly replaced by cool indifference. "Sakura, I thought I told you to wait in my office?"

She looked up and over her shoulder at him. "If you were in my–"

"I understand." Kakashi interrupted her softly, giving her shoulder a light squeeze before letting go. "Ino, Karin and Gaara, you all need to see Sarutobi–sama. As for the rest of you, you can go back to your lessons. Sakura, go and wait in my office."

"No." Sakura told him without missing a beat.

"What?"

"I'm going in there, too."

* * *

**A/N - I hate Karin. Not just in this story, but in the anime and manga too. Ugh! She does my head in. **

**Thank you all so much for leaving me reviews for the last chapter! They were honestly the best thing I woke up to and put me in a really good mood for the rest of the day.**

**By the way, if some characters are confusing you with what they're saying and how they're acting, just know that there is a reason behind it all.**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	30. I Don't Want Pity!

**Chapter ****30 ****–**** I Don't Want Pity!**

"Sakura, are you sure you want to be here?" Kakashi asked her, looking over his shoulder into Sarutobi's office. "It's going to get a little crowded in there what with you, Gaara, Karin, Ino and myself."

No doubt Ino had to be there because of her beating Karin up. The thought made her smile slightly as she looked at the blonde who was currently glaring and clenching her fists. Karin was biting her lower lip, obviously being affected by all of the glares being sent her way and Gaara was, well, he wasn't showing any emotion. What still confused Sakura was why Hinata was there, but she was grateful for her presence.

"I want to know what happens." Sakura told him. "I want to know what is said about me and what happens to _her_," she pointed to Karin, "for what she did." Then, Sakura bit her lip as she looked at the other two males, who looked as though they were in a trance. "I want Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata to be there, too."

Naruto's head immediately snapped up. "Why?"

She tried to give him a smile, but it came out more like a twitch of her lips. "You're my boys." Her voice was soft and quiet. "I shouldn't have kept something like this from either of you. Even… even if I didn't tell you about what happened to me _that_ night, I should have told you both about being bipolar. Maybe that could have explained my behaviour and actions to you." Then, Sakura smiled softly as she looked over at Hinata. "I want Hinata there because she keeps me calm."

At this, everyone looked at her with wide, surprised eyes, but Hinata seemed to understand. She got that from many different people. It was what set her apart from the rest of her family, who manage to intimidate others with just their eyes.

"I understand." Hinata smiled.

Kakashi sighed, but nodded once as he gestured for everybody to enter.

Despite Kakashi's warning Sakura didn't think it was that crowded in the office. He was leaning against the wall, Sakura and Gaara were standing at the side of Sarutobi's desk, Karin was stood in front of everybody else and Ino was standing slightly behind her, but also at the side of her. Since she was only there to try and keep Sakura calm and the other two hadn't done anything wrong, Hinata, Sasuke and Naruto had been given permission to sit on the sofa that was against the wall Kakashi was currently leaning on. It was a tight squeeze with Hinata stuck in the middle, but it wasn't too bad. Well, if you ignored her burning face it wasn't too bad.

Sarutobi himself was currently pacing behind his desk, something none of them had seen him do before. The old man was always so calm, so collected. It really surprised them all that he looked close to tearing what little was left of his own hair out. Then, he quickly stopped and looked at Karin. "Do you have any idea of the damage you have caused?"

Karin's eyebrows knitted together. "I will repay you for the–"

"Not that!" Kakashi snapped angrily, once again surprising them all since he was another who was usually so calm. Honestly, having them both acting the way they were was putting Sakura on edge. "Do you have any idea of the damage to not only one student, but two, you have caused?" At her confused look, Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Why do you think both Sakura _and_ Gaara need my assistance?" It seemed realisation dawned on them all, but Kakashi continued anyway. "For all we know, you could have just undone any progress that was made in helping them cope!"

"I didn't know." she said softly, looking down at the ground.

Even though she had done all of those things, Sakura found herself feeling a little sorry for Karin. However, just as that certain thought entered her mind Sakura was reminded why the girl was in her current situation. She had tried to socially destroy not only her, but also Gaara. Why the hell did they all pick on him to get to her? It wasn't fair!

"No, not a single one of you knew what was wrong with either of them." Kakashi continued, his eyes narrowing further and quite honestly scaring some of them. "Not a single one of you realised how hard it was for Sakura to actually get out of bed in the mornings. Or for her to be able to–"

"Stop it." Sakura whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "Kakashi, please stop it."

Gaara frowned down at her. "They should know the truth, Sakura."

She shook her head. "I don't want their pity! I wanted them to forgive me before they knew all of this. Now, I don't know whether they're forgiving me because they genuinely do forgive me, or because they feel sorry for me." Just as Kakashi was about to say something, Sakura glared at him and motioned to her old friends. "_Look_ at them, Kakashi! Look at their eyes. _They_ _pity_ _me_! Do you know how horrible that is? Do you know what it feels like to have your friends look at you that way?"

Naruto lowered his eyes to the floor, not wanting to see the tortured look in Sakura's eyes. "I'm sorry."

Almost everybody looked at Naruto sadly, but Sakura simply shook her head. "Shut up."

"What?"

At his confused tone and with the way his head snapped up so that he could look at her, Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Kakashi, tell them the causes of bipolar."

"Sakura–"

"Tell them!" She screamed at him.

With a sigh, Kakashi looked at them all, but it was obvious to everyone that his words were directed mostly to Naruto. "What Sakura meant is what _triggers_ bipolar disorder, not what causes it, because the cause of it are imbalances of chemicals in the brain." He told them seriously. Again, Kakashi sighed. "A stressful circumstance or situation often triggers the symptoms of bipolar disorder. Like, for example, physical, sexual or emotional abuse, the death of a close family member or loved one and," There was a small pause, "the breakdown of a relationship."

Their eyes widened, but before any of them could say anything, Sakura was talking. "Don't you see, Naruto?" She spoke softly, but her voice was wavering. "It's because I hurt you. It's because of what I did that triggered my bipolar. I completely destroyed our relationship beyond repair. Before… before that night we had been best friends. We would tell each other everything and do everything together. We trusted each other _so much_!" Once again, her tears were falling. "Then because of what I did, everything changed. I couldn't look at you anymore, knowing what I had done to you.

"Every time I did look at you, I would see the pain and sadness in your eyes and it was so much worse than any physical blow I've ever felt. It made me feel sick to my stomach and it made me hate myself so much." She sobbed. "I didn't… I didn't mean to hurt you, I promise! I didn't mean to hurt any of you." Her body shook as she tried to hold back her sobs. "That night… that night that I was… all I could think about when I tried to get away was that I couldn't die. Not until I had told you how sorry I was." She bit her lip to the point of almost drawing blood before letting it go. "After, my mind was just… _so_ messed up. I left home, I did things I'm not proud of like drinking and taking drugs with random guys… I can't remember much, that time's a blur…"

They all tensed at her words, but didn't interrupt Sakura. No, they all knew that she needed to get it off her chest. "I let things happen that… I shouldn't have." Her arms lifted slightly and although her sleeves were down, it was obvious what she was looking at. She was looking at her scars. "These scars… they're always going to be there. They're always going to remind me of how dark it got. But…" A small smile graced her lips as her eyes slid to the person next to her. "Everybody spoke to me like I was a piece of glass, like just the simplest of things was going to make me break. Maybe they're right, maybe they're wrong. Besides Gaara, the only other person who treated me like I'm not mentally ill is the woman who helps me, Tsunade–sama. Kakashi isn't too bad, but there's a look in his eyes sometimes." Sakura lowered her gaze back down to her scars, not knowing where else to look. "It's the look of pain and sadness and it scares me. Is he looking at me with that look, or does he feel that way in general?"

Before Kakashi could speak, Sakura continued. "Don't." She looked up to him with a watery smile. "I'd rather not know… especially if it's the former." Then, her eyes went back to her old friends, two of which were in tears as well as Hinata. Sasuke looked like he was just about holding it together. "The only people _I've_ ever told about being bipolar are Gaara and his sister, Temari. But Gaara is the _only one_ I've ever told the full story to. Not even Tsunade–sama knows the whole story." She looked down at the ground. "I was too ashamed about what happened and I hated myself. At one point, I hated you guys." The three gasped at her words. "You might not have known about my illness, or about what happened, but you still didn't come to check on me.

"I was missing for _eight months_. Not minutes, not hours, not days or weeks, but months. Do you know how much that hurt? Every day that I was in that place, _every_ _single_ _day_ that I was being watched in case I tried to kill myself again, all I could think was '_why __do__n't they care_?'. I know that what I did hurt you guys, especially you two," she motioned to Ino and Naruto, "but if you had just heard me out, if you had just _listened to me instead of turning your back on me_–"

There was a hand on her shoulder and as Sakura looked up, she saw the serious gaze of Gaara, which surprised her a lot. It seemed the past few months really had matured him, helped him grow and become a better person. He still had a lot of anger inside of him, but he seemed better. He seemed happier. Well, not right now he didn't look happy, but still. "Sakura, I think that's enough." Gaara told her, his brows knitting together slightly. "Look at the affect your words are having on them."

As she looked over at them, Sakura immediately looked away. Naruto was no longer trying to hold back his tears. His head was in his hands and his body was trembling. The girl beside him was rubbing his back softly, trying to help him calm down whilst Hinata herself shed a few tears. Sasuke, at the other side of Hinata, was staring blankly at the ground, trying to keep his tears from being noticed by lowering his head so that his hair hid his eyes. On the other side of the room, Ino was sniffling and shaking, her eyes were red and her mascara had run down her cheeks because of her tears. The only person who didn't look upset was Karin, though her eyes had softened slightly with pity and guilt.

"I wanted you all to forgive me because you love me." Sakura said softly. "I didn't want you to forgive me because you pitied me."

"How can you say that?" Sasuke snapped angrily, standing up and clenching his fists. At this, Gaara narrowed his eyes and stepped forward, but Sasuke ignored the red haired boy. "After saying all that, after learning what we just learned, how can you expect us not to pity you? You've gone through all of that on your own!"

Many looked surprised to see that not only was Sasuke getting so wound up, but he was speaking in longer and more emotional sentences. However, Sakura merely narrowed her eyes. "I didn't go through it alone! At first I did, but afterwards, I had my parents there. I had my mother by my side, helping me even when I screamed at her to leave me alone, even when I cried and begged for her to just _let_ _me_ _die_!" It was obvious that Sakura was becoming more hysterical by the minute, but nobody knew what to say to calm her down, not even Hinata, Gaara or Kakashi. "I had Tsunade–sama there. Even though she's a proud woman, I could open up to her about how I was feeling! I had Kakashi there! He didn't force me to talk about how I was feeling. He just made sure I was comfortable, that I was as happy as I could possibly be given my condition." Sakura's eyes became angrier and her voice grew louder. "I had Hinata and Sai there! We may not have talked much, but at least they _smiled_ at me. Do you know how many people here smile at me? And I don't mean in the nasty, sly way. Hinata and Sai were two of the very few people who looked passed what I had done.

"_I had Gaara there_!" She screamed even louder, her voice cracking and straining and making a few of them flinch. "Even though he's moody and angry all the time and he likes to keep people at arms–length, he _let me in_! Despite me being a bitch and despite me having never noticed him before, he gave me a chance. Even though with that chance were snide remarks, the bitchy comments and the disgusted looks wherever we went, he still gave me it! And do you want to know something? Gaara doesn't even expect anything in return. He defended me so many times, even against his own family. Even after learning everything, Gaara still looks and speaks to me like _I'm a person_!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes dangerously. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Copying him, Sakura's eyes also narrowed. The pair seemed to have forgotten everyone else in the room as they glared at one another. "It means, Sasuke, that whilst you were too busy _fucking __me_ Gaara was there for me emotionally!" There was a pause and in that pause, the silence was almost deafening. Then, when she spoke again, her voice was nothing more than a whisper. "Even _Itachi_ was there for me."

The silence seemed to grow even louder at her last words and immediately, everybody looked to Sasuke, who seemed to not know what to do.

"Like Kakashi, Itachi did and does whatever he can to make me comfortable and as happy as I can be." She told them, her voice sounding a little hoarse because of her screaming. "We go out for food and he takes me to the movies. Hell, we even went to the mall together!" Sasuke looked down at her, his eyes a mixture of hurt, sadness and betrayal. "What I'm trying to say is that even though he didn't know much, he could still always tell that something was wrong. Despite being busy with the company, Itachi still made time for me."

The others were still in surprise at Sakura's previous words, about how Sasuke had been sleeping with her. Sarutobi looked as though he didn't even know what to say, as did Karin. Ino looked hurt, Hinata looked shocked. But Naruto, Kakashi and Gaara's eyes had all hardened as they looked at the Uchiha.

"It's always her."

Everybody looked at Ino in confusion whilst the blonde was simply looking at Sasuke sadly.

"No matter what I do it's always going to be Sakura, isn't it?"

However, before he could reply, Sakura all but screamed at her. "_Shut up_! Will you just listen to yourself? You're acting as though you're in love with Sasuke, but you're not! Are you really that blind? Can't you see that somebody else has been falling in love with you?"

Ino's eyes widened, "W–What?"

"Don't make me spell it out for you, Ino." Sakura snapped. "You know who it is just as well as I do. You're not in love with Sasuke; you're in love with the boy who loves you back! So why won't you just admit it and be with him? You could be so happy with him! Why do you keep doing this to yourself?"

"I think we're steering off topic." Sarutobi finally spoke up as he cleared his throat. "What I want to know is why were you," He looked at Karin, "following Sakura and Gaara?"

Karin's mouth opened and closed for a couple of seconds before she finally managed to speak. "I wasn't following them!" At Sarutobi's raised eyebrow, Karin rolled her eyes. "Okay, so maybe I was, but who could blame me? I was there during that party. I saw the argument between Sakura and Gaara and it was obvious something was going on between them. I mean, how else could somebody like him get in a place like that?"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Sakura snapped as she took a step forward, but Gaara grabbed her arm and pulled her back, shaking his head at her.

After watching Sakura carefully, Karin turned back to Sarutobi, who was watching her with an empty expression, but Kakashi, Naruto and Hinata could see the disappointment in the man's eyes. "Anyway, when I saw Gaara leaving, I knew it would only be so long until she left too." Then, Karin shrugged. "So I followed them. Ino said it was fine if I did."

"What?" Ino shrieked. "Don't go bringing me into this!"

Karin's head snapped to the side to glare at Ino. "You did! I asked you if I should follow them to see if anything happened and you said whatever."

"I was drunk that night!" She practically screamed. "Everybody saw how drunk I was! I had to leave early because of it."

Sakura bit her lip. "Even though I'm pissed, Ino _was_ pretty drunk that night."

Gaara nodded once, remembering everything the blonde had said to them.

Once again, Karin's mouth popped open and closed until it snapped shut. "It still doesn't change the fact that she told me it would be okay! I only asked her because I noticed her trying to mess with your relationship. Nobody wants to step into Yamanaka Ino's territory!" Karin's eyes narrowed, obviously disliking having to admit such a thing. "When you went into the field, I only started recording because I thought something else was going to happen and I was going to post it onto the school website."

Naruto growled as he shot up out of his seat. "So if they had had sex in the field, you would have watched and recorded it? Can't you hear yourself and how creepy that sounds?"

The red haired girl shrugged. "I don't care; I've been made to record much worse."

"But that was just under a month ago." Sakura frowned, ignoring the girl's second sentence. "Why didn't you do what you did today straight away?"

Karin narrowed her eyes. "Despite the fact that I don't like either of you, I had second thoughts. I watched the video – the _whole_ video – over and over again. I kept wondering if destroying you was really worth it."

"What made you post the video?" Kakashi demanded.

"I heard about her and Sasuke." She snapped, her eyes narrowing even further on Sakura. "Right at the last minute, I changed my mind and I didn't want to do it anymore, but then, I heard you and Sasuke on one of the corridors, telling him that you wanted to talk about something serious."

Sakura bit her lip and looked down at her feet. "I was going to tell him about being bipolar as well as… about my relationship with Gaara." At their wide eyes, Sakura smiled. "You guys saw the video, surely you heard Gaara telling me to tell you all?" She then shrugged. "He kept telling me to at least tell Naruto or Sasuke, but since Naruto wouldn't even look at me…" She looked up at Sasuke. "And since you were one of the very few people who I had left…"

"Why didn't you tell me?" They were all surprised at the softened tone in Sasuke's voice. It seemed he was purposely ignoring the second half of her first sentence about her being in a relationship with Gaara.

"I was going to. I was going to tell you tonight." Sakura whispered. "It's one of our study nights remember? Don't tell me you've forgotten!" There was a teasing tone in her voice before she grew serious. "I didn't tell you straight away because I wanted to be sure that telling you would be the right thing to do. I didn't want you to back off or change the way you look at me." Again, Sakura bit her lip. "When I got up this morning, I decided that I would tell you tonight. I'm actually surprised my mom hasn't told you yet."

Sasuke's eyes widened as realisation flooded his features. "She was always saying strange things, but I thought she was simply asking me to look out for you." At Sakura's questioning gaze, he spoke again. "Mebuki kept telling me to make sure you don't do anything reckless, or something you might regret. There were other times when she would smile at me and thank me for just being there for you."

The pink haired girl smiled and shook her head. "I swear, my mom is–"

"The best," Naruto smiled. "What more could you ask for? I mean, she even spoke to _my _mom."

"What?" Everyone asked in unison.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "When me and my mom were watching a thunderstorm," Both his and Sakura's eyes saddened slightly, confusing the others, "she kept asking me questions about you." He told Sakura. "Then she told me that she spoke to your mom one day and they sat down and talked for hours or something. She kept telling me that there were things about you that I didn't know, but she wouldn't tell me what they were so I ignored her."

"Your dad knows, too." Sakura said softly. "Minato–san spoke with Itachi during one of my sessions with Tsunade–sama."

Looking down at the ground, Naruto frowned. "I didn't know."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang outside in the reception area, causing everyone to jump due to it having been so quiet in the office. Then, there was the sound of somebody yelling angrily.

"What is that noise?" Sarutobi demanded, even though he already had a very good idea what – or _who_ – it was.

No explanation was needed as a second later, the office door slammed open, crashing against the wall and leaving a dent in the plaster, making Sarutobi sigh. He had only just had it fixed from when Gaara had done the same. Where the door had once been was now an enraged, busty blonde with the fire of hell burning in her eyes. At the sight of the woman, Sakura's eyes widened.

"Tsunade–sama!"

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**A/N - Thank you so much for all your reviews!  
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**I don't have much to say because I need to hurry up and get going - I'm getting my hair done! No more blue!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!:-)**


	31. The Legendary Tsunade

**Chapter ****31 ****–**** The Legendary Tsunade**

Suddenly, there was a loud bang outside in the reception area, causing everyone to jump due to it having been so quiet in the office. Then, there was the sound of somebody yelling angrily.

"What is that noise?" Sarutobi demanded, even though he already had a very good idea what – or_ who _– it was.

No explanation was needed as a second later, the office door slammed open, crashing against the wall and leaving a dent in the plaster, making Sarutobi sigh. He had only just had it fixed from where Gaara had ruined it. Where the door had once been was now an enraged, busty blonde with the fire of hell burning in her eyes. At the sight of the woman, Sakura's eyes widened.

"Tsunade–sama!"

"You always know how to make an entrance, don't you Tsunade?"

The blonde rolled her eyes at Sarutobi, "Whatever you say, old man." Then, her eyes moved to Sakura. "Care to inform me why I have just had your mother screaming down the phone at me?"

Sakura groaned as she looked at Kakashi. "You told my mom?"

Everybody else was in silent awe at the sight of the blonde. Like Sarutobi had just said, she had definitely made an entrance. Even Sasuke, Kakashi and Gaara looked stunned beyond words before Kakashi cleared his throat and focused on what Sakura had been saying.

"What we found out was pretty serious, Sakura." Kakashi told her, his eyes narrowing in concern. "What happened to you… it's not something that should be ignored."

"I _want_ to ignore it!" She yelled angrily. "Telling Gaara terrified the crap out of me and now you want me to tell everyone, especially after what _she_," her hand lashed out in front of her, gesturing to Karin, "has done?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes before moving forward to block Sakura's view of Karin. She could see that just the sight of the other girl was infuriating Sakura and in response to her rude dismissal, Karin bristled, but Tsunade inwardly dared the brat to try something with her.

"Calm down, Sakura!" She barked and immediately, Sakura shut up and straightened, looking up at Tsunade as the woman continued. "You won't be telling everyone, just me and your parents until you're ready to make a statement. We're doing this to help you. If you had just told us about it as soon as it happened, then we could have dealt with this much sooner. Keeping something as big as this hidden and bottled up inside of you isn't only dangerous for you, but others around you. How would you feel knowing you've harmed someone you care about because you snapped? And I know for a fact that you know how that feels."

Sakura looked around the room at everyone she cared about, who were all watching in shock since Tsunade actually managed to silence Sakura. They had never really met anyone who could do that before, for Sakura had always snapped back. Biting her lip, she looked back up at Tsunade, who was now watching her expectantly. "I don't want my parents in the room." Just when she was about to argue, Sakura continued. "Tsunade–sama, it's bad enough that they now know what happened. I don't want them to know the details."

"You're not eighteen yet, Sakura." The blonde spoke calmly. "You need to have a parent or legal guardian with you, especially for something as serious as this. Don't you get it? You were _raped_, Sakura! Nobody is judging you and if they are, then they need knocking into next week and I will personally and _gladly_ do so myself."

Everybody suddenly realised why Sakura didn't answer back to Tsunade. With just a simple sentence, they realised she was too much like the pink haired girl. Both were violent, short tempered women.

Sakura looked down at the ground. "Can't I have somebody other than my parents there?"

At this, Tsunade rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "You can't take your boyfriend with you, Sakura," Motioning to Gaara before putting her hand back on her hip, not noticing how Sasuke tensed at her words, "he doesn't look any older than you, so it would be inappropriate. This guy," Tsunade narrowed her eyes on Kakashi, "given that he is your assistant, I may let you off. You're Hatake Kakashi, aren't you? Former student of Namikaze Minato."

Kakashi nodded once before bowing his head respectfully, "Tsunade–sama."

"Hm," The blonde raised an eyebrow, "my conversations with Sakura lead me to believe you were nothing more than a pervert who is late to everything."

At her words, Gaara smirked and Sakura and Sarutobi chuckled whilst Kakashi sighed dejectedly. "And here I thought you were starting to like me, Sakura." He then smiled cheerfully. "You seemed happy enough discussing '_Icha Icha_' with me."

Tsunade raised a hand to her forehead. "That damned Jiraiya!" She snapped angrily whilst everyone except Kakashi and Gaara looked at Sakura in shock. "He's nothing more than a pervert!"

"Hey don't forget I was locked away for like _eight months_!" Sakura tried to defend herself. "I had nothing better to do!"

However, her words were ignored as Naruto shot forward, looking at Tsunade with wide eyes. "You know ero–sennin?"

"Ero–sennin, eh?" Sarutobi chuckled. "Of course she knows Jiraiya, Naruto! They've been friends ever since they were children."

"Even back then he was a pervert." Tsunade muttered before turning back to Sakura with a serious expression. "You don't have to tell me everything today, but you do have to come with me. Your parents are already heading to my office. Even though your mother wanted to come straight here, I told her it would be best to wait until later." Tsunade then sighed. "You're obviously not pregnant, but you need to be checked for STD's and HIV."

Not only Sakura's eyes widened, but so did Sasuke's and Gaara's. Sure, she had only slept with the former, but that didn't mean that she hadn't been intimate with Gaara. They may not have had sex, but they had done other sexual activities. "You don't need to worry about that." Her cheeks burned red as everyone stared at her. "I had my doctor, Shizune–san, check me out after… after I tried to kill myself."

It was so hard saying the words out loud. Everybody knew she had tried to kill herself not once, but several times, but it didn't make it any easier to speak about it. In fact, it almost felt as though she was ashamed of her actions. Both Sasuke and Gaara relaxed considerably and it made her feel bad. What if she hadn't been checked out? Would she still have let them touch her? Would she still have touched them? Would she have put her own selfish need for human touch before them?

"Well at least you were smart enough to do something." Tsunade told her but then shrugged. "You still have to come with me though."

"Tsunade," Sarutobi chided, "must you discuss such things with a room filled with other students? I'm sure Sakura would rather they didn't know these things."

Sakura shook her head. "I don't, but Gaara and Sasuke both have every right to know these things. I never brought it up because… well I didn't feel as though I had to. I came back clear on almost all of the tests."

Their eyes widened.

"What?" Sasuke demanded.

She shook her head, her eyes widening. "I don't mean that! I mean…" Sakura looked down at the ground, her cheeks once again burning but this time, out of shame. "I failed the drugs test my mother ordered me to take."

"_You did drugs_?" Naruto exclaimed angrily. Suddenly, he was in front of her, his hands gripping her shoulders tightly even when her eyes shot up to his in fear. Everybody was frozen in place as Naruto started to shake her firmly. "Sakura–chan, I know that you've been through a lot, but why the hell would you do that to yourself? Why would you take drugs? Don't you remember all those times you yelled at people for taking them? Don't you remember those boring lectures you would give us all? Why would you do that?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed when Naruto's grip tightened even further, making Sakura whimper in pain, but before the blond could continue shaking her, he was by their sides, his hand gripping one of Naruto's wrists tightly enough to make him yelp in pain. But even when he did, Gaara didn't let go. It wasn't until Naruto let go of Sakura that he let go of him, turning to see if she was okay.

"I'm fine." Sakura smiled up at him despite the tears in her eyes.

"What the hell?" Naruto demanded angrily, rubbing his reddening wrist.

The red head turned towards the blond, not caring that everyone was watching him with wide eyes. "Don't touch her."

It was Sasuke who was suddenly up in Gaara's face. "Why are you getting so defensive? Sakura isn't yours!"

"I'm not anyone's!" Sakura screamed at them all. "I'm not property, so I don't belong to _anybody_. I am my own person. If neither of you can accept that…" She didn't need to finish her sentence as both boys immediately stopped fighting. Then, she turned to Tsunade, who was watching her with a raised eyebrow, seeming almost amused. "I'm ready to go; I just need to get my things out of Kakashi's office." Before they left, Sakura looked over her shoulder, her eyes immediately going to Karin. "I'd be grateful if you could keep what was discussed in here and on the field private."

"Or you'll do what, eh?" Karin narrowed her eyes, not liking the way she was being spoken to. "Or you'll hit me?"

Sakura gave her a smirk. "As much as I'd love to put you through a window, no, you'll be hearing from my family's lawyers for recording and posting a video of me without my permission – don't forget, I'm also under age, so that makes it even worse." They were all shocked by her threat as she slowly turned around to face them. "My family is fairly well known and has a lot of contacts and not only did what you record have private information about me, but also about Gaara. It is also information that my mother fought very hard to keep hidden for my benefit. And believe me you do not want my mother on your back. So I'd watch myself if I were you."

Karin scoffed. "You'd actually take me to court?"

The smirk slipped away, revealing just how serious Sakura was as she stepped towards Karin, but the latter simply stood her ground as she glared at Sakura. "You're forgetting who I am, Karin and how the information I know about you could destroy you." Sakura warned her. "Remember our first year here? Back when you and your friends cornered me after school and cut all my hair off before beating me up? What was that about again?" Sakura pretended to look thoughtful before her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Oh, I remember! It was because I was friends with Sasuke and he wouldn't even look at you."

"Is that true?" Sasuke demanded, his fists clenching tightly as he remembered the state she had been in. "Karin, was that really you who did that to Sakura?"

Karin didn't have a chance to speak as Ino stepped in, her eyes narrowing. "It's true. I remember Sakura coming in the next day with all her hair cut off and covered in bruises. When Karin saw her, she and her friends all laughed."

"That was years ago!" Karin snapped, placing one hand on her hip and leaning forward as she towered over Sakura. "Stop trying to scare me because it isn't working. The only reason why you don't want anybody, especially Sasuke, to see that video is because of what you and that freak did in the field."

The only sound that followed was the sound of a harsh slapping noise.

Sakura glared fiercely at Karin as the latter slowly brought a hand up to her face, seeming shocked at the pain that was immediately throbbing. Forget being beaten earlier by Ino. The slap she had just received from Sakura was much more painful. "Do_ not _call Gaara a freak." She spat, her eyes darkening with anger as everybody stared in shock. "The only freak around here is _you_. As for what we did in the field, you're making it sound as though we had sex."

"You may as well have had sex!" Karin smirked despite the pain in her cheek. There wasn't a chance in hell that she was backing down. "I saw your faces and the way you were acting and believe me it will never work out between you two. A poor brat like him–"

Again, Karin was slapped.

What surprised Sakura was that nobody was even stepping in to stop her.

"For your information, Karin, Gaara isn't poor. In fact, he's far from it! You only heard half the conversation we had that night, so you don't know the rest." Sakura grabbed her collar, bringing the taller girl down to her height. "And if I ever hear you speak a word about what Gaara and I talked about, or if I ever hear you call him anything offensive again, forget the lawyers and forget court, _I'll put you in the fucking hospital_."

With that, Sakura threw Karin to the floor before storming out of the office, leaving everyone stood there in shock, except for a smug looking Tsunade who immediately stepped towards Karin.

"You better do as she says, girl," Tsunade smirked, "her temper is almost as bad as mine and I will stand by her side to make sure that whatever she does to you will go unpunished. As her psychiatrist, I can make that happen and not only that, but I am _great_ friends with her doctor." Then, she gave Karin an obviously fake smile, not even caring that her words terrified them all. "Oh and don't forget who Sakura is friends with." At the girl's questioning look, Tsunade pointed over to Gaara, Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata. "They're all from the most powerful families in the world, the Uchiha, Sabaku, Hyuuga and Namikaze–Uzumaki."

"Tsunade, I think that will be enough threats–"

Tsunade's eyes shot up to Sarutobi's, narrowed and deadly. "Do not interrupt me, old man. I'm having a _very_ bad day." She then turned back to Karin, who was now very pale. "Not only is Sakura friends with them, but she is also like a younger sister to Uchiha Itachi, who has a ridiculously large amount of contacts and not all of them are the types you want to mess around with. It will do you well to stay away from my patient, because if they don't do anything," Tsunade moved closer, her features turning more angry and deadly, "_then I will_."

Like Sakura had only moments before, Tsunade stormed out of the room, muttering something about needing some sake with a sighing Kakashi following behind.

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**A/N - Not a very long chapter, I know. But I needed to warn you all that I may possibly be losing the internet soon. Our services are being cut off because we're refusing to pay the bill. Not for the first time, they're trying to charge us triple the amount and I honestly can't blame my mum for refusing to blame. So, until we get set up with a new broadband and whatnot, I won't have access to the internet. I don't like updating on my phone because it just takes the piss with autocorrect. -.-  
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**This chapter was pretty dramatic, wouldn't you say? And I know that Tsunade didn't seem very scary here, or as angry, but I hope I got her character right. There's nothing worse than characters being OOC. I read this one fanfiction before where they made Sakura a 'Mary Sue' or whatever they're called. She started calling the Kyuubi her brother and shit and apparently people considered her as powerful as him even though she didn't have a tailed beast. I like to make Sakura powerful in my fanfictions, but I don't make her ridiculous like that.**

**Saying that, if anybody seems OOC to you, please tell me and I'll do what I can to fix it!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


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Naruto, Drama, Romance